Revolution
by Raivon
Summary: The Connors' lives are thrown into chaos when a mysterious man arrives from the future with no memory of who or what he is. A/N: Features an OC from my other stories, but is set in an alternate timeline to those. John/Cameron. Part 1/5. Please Review.
1. Promises

**Chapter One: Promises**

All throughout his life John has had to give up everything he holds dear. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is safe. Everything comes to an end. He tells himself this as he watches the blonde-haired girl get into the cab, never to return. Her name was Riley, and she was, if only for the briefest of moments, the single good thing in his life. He bites his tongue against the overwhelming urge to call her back, but he knows that would be unfair, that she deserved to escape the chaos of his destiny. His birthright. His future.

John Connor, future leader of Mankind, the saviour of Humanity.

Right now he felt nothing like a messiah. He felt like saying "to hell with it" and had to struggle against the sudden desire to leave everything behind. To give up. But he couldn't, he wouldn't. The world needs him, and what right does he have to say "no"?

Soft footsteps announced a familiar, and unwelcome, presence approaching from behind. John leaned against the doorframe and narrowed his eyes at the tiny red lights in the distance, a mocking reminder of what he's lost and why he's lost it. She stopped mere inches away from his left shoulder and followed his gaze to the diminishing glow of the cab as it slowly faded beyond his range of sight, but not hers.

Within ten seconds it was gone and John let out a sigh of regret.

Another ten seconds and Cameron let out an internal sigh of what humans might call relief.

After a few silent moments, John finally pulled back into the house, closing the door on the world. He turned around to find Cameron standing there, her face characteristically blank, unaware that his was no different. They stared at each other for several long seconds until Cameron finally opened her mouth to speak, but John decided he didn't want to hear what she had to say, and cut her short.

"If you say; I told you so, I swear to God I'll…"

He didn't know what he'd do, because, realistically; there was little he could do to Cameron. He couldn't even hurt her feelings, assuming she had any. But his incomplete threat did cause a small stir within those eyes of hers and she tilted her head ever so slightly, waiting for him to finish his sentence. John just sighed again and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opens them she'll have gone, but Cameron was still there when he did. She was always there.

"Just… leave me alone."

Without another word, John brushed past her and went upstairs to his room, leaving Cameron alone in the room, silently reviewing his demeanour and deciding that he was exasperated. She approached the stairwell and peered up into the darkness of the upstairs hallway, weighing the pros and cons of paying him a visit. Before she could reach a decision, however, Cameron's attention was drawn to the 8 year-old "runt" who came hurtling down the corridor.

In one swift movement, Cameron grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck, bringing him to an immediate stop and lifted him off his feet, his eyes level with hers.

"What have you been told?"

Her voice was calm but stern, and the boy's eyes widened in fear at the sound of it.

"N-Never run in the house, unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless the bad robots come around for tea."

Cameron gave him a sweet smile, which the boy found to be even scarier.

"Good boy."

Movement in the other room caught Cameron's attention and she slid her gaze from the boy's face to that of Sarah's, who stood with her hands in her pockets and an amused expression on her face.

"Uh, Cameron…"

Sarah raised her eyebrows, her eyes darting from the boy to the floor. Cameron understood the gesture and checked her chronometer, determining the time as 9.32pm before slowly lowering the boy to the floor.

"Would you like a bedtime story?"

Though his feet now touched the floor, Cameron maintained her grip on his t-shirt until he nodded silently. Once released, the boy gave Sarah a quick glance before running up the stairs, stopping halfway as he remembered the household rules. Sarah smiled and took a few steps towards Cameron, who was listening out for any signs of running upstairs, but hearing nothing.

"How is he?"

Satisfied that the boy was behaving himself, Cameron returned her attention to Sarah's question.

"He is still afraid of me."

"Well I'm not surprised, the way you keep handling him."

Cameron's brow twitched in slight confusion.

"You told me little boys need a firm hand."

Sarah smiled and shook her head, amused by the machine's method of interpretation.

"Yes, I suppose I did. But try not to scare him too much. We don't want a repeat incident of what happened when he found out what you are. Anyway, I was referring to John, not him."

Cameron's thoughts drifted to that day when the boy walked in on her whilst she was patching up her leg, and saw the servos and pistons moving beneath her torn flesh. He flew into a blind panic, having been warned about evil robots that look like humans, and attacked her with a plastic knife in a vain effort to remove her "batteries". Cameron was forced to tie him up and gag him to stop the screaming. Luckily, neither Sarah, John, nor Derek were present at the time, and Cameron was able to convince the boy that she was a good robot.

Sarah was afraid that Cameron had suffered one of her personality glitches again when she came home to find the boy tied to a chair, timidly listening to Cameron as she read him "Humpty Dumpty". She couldn't help but find the whole thing amusing and was constantly reminded of it whenever she saw him and Cameron together.

"Cameron?"

Cameron snapped out of her reverie and returned her thoughts to the present, taking note of the five seconds that had passed without her notice, no doubt a result of another minor glitch. The vacant smile on her lips faded as she recalled John's behaviour.

"He is very upset. It might be a while before he is ready to talk to us again."

Sarah rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well that figures. I guess we'll just have to give him some time alone… again."

"Maybe Derek might-"

"Maybe I might what?"

Derek came down the stairs, a slight look of annoyance on his face, and stopped short of Cameron. She regarded him without expression and took a few steps back, allowing him room to pass.

"Maybe you might talk to John. Help him with his problems."

Sarah looked at Derek expectantly but he just snorted and folded his arms.

"Well I would, except he's not in his room and his window is open."

Sarah shifted uncomfortably, concern clouding her features.

"He's gone?"

"Yeah, and so has three bottles of beer from my room. I'm guessing he's gone to find his own way of dealing with his issues."

Sarah ran a hand over her face and shook her head.

"John and alcohol are never a good combination."

"You're telling me? I was at his 30th remember, he almost shot himself in the foot. Twice."

With this in mind, Cameron marched to the front door, stopping only to pick up her jacket, and left the house in search of John. She started outside his window and followed the impressions in the wet grass which led to the pavement, becoming increasingly faint footprints and followed the trail as far as she could before calculating a series of possible locations. Knowing John as she does, Cameron chose to visit the least likely location first and set off at a fast pace, hoping that she would get to him whilst his feet were still intact.

--

John wasn't much of a drinker, and in the few times when he had indulged, John had never gotten any further than slight dizziness. But as he uncapped the third bottle and put it to his lips, John felt a slight tingling sensation in his finger tips that ran all the way back to his brain, blurring his thoughts together. As the alcohol poured down his throat and settled in his stomach, John forced himself to think about the very person he'd come here to forget; Riley.

For almost a month, he and Riley had become close friends and, in the last few days, something more. But inevitably, this was not meant to be, as Riley bore witness to the machines and was overwhelmed by the truth of it all. John had tried his very best to keep her from leaving, but he knew it to be pointless and instead made her promise to hide somewhere safe come Judgment Day.

"_I promise… Goodbye John."_

"_Goodbye Riley."_

John repeated these words before taking another swig and staring down at the empty levee, a small puddle of water gathered beneath the bridge he was currently sitting on, his legs dangling over the side. Promises; his life was full of them, and not a few of them were empty. His mother had promised to help him stop Skynet, but she had yet to make any real progress there. His uncle had promised to prepare him for the future war, but he had yet to teach him anything new. Cameron had promised…

Unbidden, unwanted, a memory flashed in his mind:

"_Are you here to kill me?"_

_Cameron stared into his eyes with an inhuman focus, dried tears still visible on her bloodied cheeks, as she pondered his question. Finally, she answered, but her word did not carry any tangible weight…_

"_No."_

…_so John decided to put her to the crucial test, one that would decide his fate for him. Despite the risks, despite the fact that only an hour or so earlier she'd tried to kill him, John handed her his gun._

"_Promise?"_

_She took it with apparent hesitation and held it uncertainly, her gaze sliding from the gun to John's face. Cameron regarded him closely for a long moment before dropping her gaze back to the gun and placing it in her other hand, the barrel facing away from John._

"_Promise."_

_She held out the weapon for John to take. He snatched the gun from her before extending his hand to hers and carefully helping her out of the burnt-out car. Once on her feet, she took her place by his side, just as she promised._

A few glitches aside, Cameron had maintained her pledge, despite him constantly pushing her away. He loved and hated her for that, and found it harder and harder to keep her at arms length, which he knew would now be impossible with Riley gone.

"Mind if I join you?"

John closed his eyes at the sound of her voice, and couldn't help but smile at the aptness of her timely appearance.

"Why not, it's not like anyone else is taking up room."

John took another swig as Cameron swung her legs over the side and shuffled up beside him, eying the bottle with scrutiny.

"How much alcohol have you consumed?"

John held the bottle at eye level and squinted at it for a moment before placing his finger about halfway from the bottom.

"This much, times five."

Cameron's eyes darted from the bottle to his feet and she raised an eyebrow.

"Well at least you still have your feet attached."

"What?"

"Never mind. But you shouldn't drink anymore; a bridge isn't the safest place to get drunk."

John snorted and raised the bottle again, only to have it snatched from his hand and placed on Cameron's left, out of his reach. He just shook his head and looked away, determined to ignore that faint smile on her lips.

"Still protecting me, I see."

"I promised, remember."

John smiled silently and rocked his legs back and forth to get rid of the pins 'n' needles, Cameron mimicking his actions. They sat there for a few minutes as feeling returned to John's legs, putting an end to his and Cameron's rocking.

"I'm sorry about Ril-"

"No you're not!"

He'd been anticipating this ever since she arrived and was surprised it took her this long to bring up the subject.

"You've hated her from day one. All you ever did was lecture me on how she was a threat and that I should've gotten rid of her. So don't lie to me and say you're sorry to see the back of her, okay?"

"But I am sorry… for you."

John closed his eyes and shook his head as the early signs of an oncoming headache took hold.

"Don't, just don't. Alright? I can't take this from you, not now."

Cameron obeyed and turned her attention to the bottle, picking it up and taking a small sip, analysing the beer's properties.

"This drink has a very high alcohol content. I'm surprised you haven't passed out by now."

John decided not to answer and watched as she took another sip, his head starting to throb.

"Take it easy, you're already a pain in my ass, and I don't fancy having to carry a drunken cyborg home tonight."

Cameron scanned the bottle again before putting it down and staring ahead.

"I can't get drunk, but I know what you mean."

"How would you… You know what; I don't care. Forget about it."

John drew in on himself, silently resenting her persistence and at the same time feeling grateful. Despite himself, those old feelings slowly began to resurface and he had to struggle to force them back into their cage. John had promised himself that he wouldn't fall into that sand trap ever again. Feelings for a machine were just… complicated. And he knew first-hand the dangers of allowing oneself to grow too attached to a machine who can use your feelings against you.

"John?"

He turned to face her, seeing that innocent curiosity in her brown eyes. The pain in his head seemed to dull slightly, as if her stare had soothing properties. He took a deep breath, washing away his apprehension at whatever she was about to ask him.

"What is it?"

"Do you think that, with Riley gone, we can go back-"

A crack of lightning and a flash of white light sent them flying off the bridge and hurtling towards the ground. Luckily, Cameron managed to grab John mid-fall and held him close as she struck the ground, acting as a cushion between him and the concrete. Arcs of lightning surrounded them as a sphere of light appeared a few feet from where they laid. The lightning eventually dissipated and John extricated himself from Cameron, 

wincing as his back ached despite landing on top of her. Cameron got to her feet and stood in front of John, her eyes scanning the naked figure before them.

He laid there shivering and slowly raised his head, his eyes trying to focus on John and Cameron. As they slowly drew closer, John noticed that the man was bleeding heavily from his forehead, a bullet wound visible beneath his long dark fringe. The man's eyes darted back and forth from John and Cameron to the world around him, confusion and fear lining his handsome features. Cautiously, John took a step closer and knelt down a foot away.

"Are you okay? My name's John, are you from the future?"

"Future? I don't…"

The man looked up at Cameron, who continued to eye him suspiciously, her right hand slowly clenching into a fist. John followed his gaze and glanced up at her, shaking his head disapprovingly before turning back to the mysterious arrival.

"What is your name?"

"My name?"

"Yeah, who are you?"

The man stared at the floor for a moment before locking eyes with John again, uncertainty clouding his features.

"I don't know."

_To be continued…_


	2. Shadows

**Chapter Two: Shadows**

2027

She was trapped. There would be no escape for her this time.

Through eyes cold and merciless, the infiltrator watched as the human female hurtled down the dark corridor, desperately trying to escape this nightmare. But the infiltrator had secured all the exits, blocked every possible escape route. She was little more than a rat in a maze now, and it was only a matter of taking the wrong turn before coming face-to-face with her fate.

She collided with her captor, her brown eyes widening in utter terror as she saw his face. She froze completely, every fibre of her being told her to break away, to fight and flight. But she couldn't, her body refused to respond to her instincts and she did nothing but shed a single tear before falling into nothingness.

The infiltrator carefully lowered her body to the floor, placing her hands on her stomach and closing her eyes. She looks so peaceful, the infiltrator thought as he stood over her, recording the sight to memory before calling out to his creator.

"It is done."

--

The stranger woke up screaming to find himself on a bed he didn't recognize, in a room he couldn't recall, a house he'd never seen before. His vision was blurred and a sharp pain came from his temple, he cried out again as he felt as if his head was splitting in two. Shadowy figures entered the room and distant voices reached the stranger's ears.

"He's awake."

This voice was wispy and soft, the voice of a petite teenage girl, but it sounded so mechanized to his ears.

"Yeah, I think we noticed, Cam."

This belonged to a boy, bearing all the hallmarks of an adolescent, but carried an undertone of tenacity.

"He looks out of it; maybe we shouldn't have given him so many painkillers."

An adult, male, sharing similar speech nuances as the boy, but with a brusque manner.

"He had a bullet lodged in his skull, how would you feel?"

Another adult, female, strong, commanding, dominant.

He didn't know how, but the stranger felt these observations pour into him from a place deep within the back of his mind, an undetectable aperture of knowledge. The shadows moved. Two approached his right; the others remained on his left, all looking down on him. The stranger blinked repeatedly, his vision becoming clearer with each attempt, but their faces still remained obscure.

One of them pulled up a chair and sat closer to the bed, leaning forward and shining a bright light in his eyes. He blinked against the harsh radiance, the light of which illuminated the person's face, revealing a woman with dark hair and green eyes. She studied him closely for a few seconds before switching off the light, leaving oil coloured spots in his vision.

"He seems to be alright. How do you feel?"

The stranger winced and put a hand to his face, his mind starting to clear as an answer came to him from that hidden place. He felt his vocal cords scrape against his throat, making him cough before speaking, his voice coming out ragged and hoarse.

"My head hurts… Where am I?"

The woman leaned back and put the light down on the bedside table before picking up a syringe and filling it with a clear liquid.

"You're safe."

The stranger watched as she tapped the needle and gave it a small squirt before taking his left arm and placing the needle against his skin, causing him to recoil.

"What is that?"

Her expression softened and she let go of his arm.

"It's morphine. It will help dull the pain."

His head gave another excruciating throb and he held out his arm for the injection. A small sting and it was done, within a few seconds the pain began to fade until it was nothing more than a minor ache.

"Thank you."

The woman put down the syringe and got to work replacing the plaster on his forehead, being careful not to touch the wound as she placed a fresh one over the stitched skin, her eyes darting across his face a dozen times as she worked.

"You're lucky to be alive, you know. If that bullet was a centimetre deeper it would've penetrated your brain, or so Tin-Miss tells me."

"Tin-Miss?"

The woman inclined her head towards the girl on his right, who was regarding him with an expression of mild curiosity. For the first time he saw the girl's face with total lucidity and felt his heart begin to race for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Something about her was screaming danger to him, but he didn't know what. She looked perfectly harmless and innocent to him. She tilted her head slightly and seemed to look right through him, making the stranger feel even more uncomfortable.

"Who are you people?"

The woman seemed to consider his question carefully for a moment before raising her eyebrows in a slightly defensive gesture.

"How about you tell us who you are first? I mean, you're obviously from the future. You're clearly human. Are you a Resistance fighter?"

Her words made little sense to him, even more so as he couldn't possibly answer her question.

"I can't remember. Everything's… I don't know who I am. What do you mean; the future?"

The boy shifted slightly and crossed his arms.

"He said that before."

The woman glanced up at the boy before looking back at the stranger.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

The stranger searched his memories and came upon a perfect recollection.

"White light, falling backwards, and then… pain… and cold. You were there… and you as well."

He pointed at the boy and the girl, his eyes narrowing at the former.

"John. You said your name is John."

John nodded and cocked his head in the girl's direction.

"Yeah, and this is Cameron."

Again, he felt a tightening in his stomach at the mention of that name, as it seemed all-too-familiar. The woman stood up and moved the chair away from the bed before pointing to herself.

"I'm Sarah. This is Derek."

Derek simply nodded in recognition. The stranger willed his muscles to work as he sat up and rested his back against the pillow, getting a better view of the room, and spotting a pair of eyes peering through the door.

"And who's the kid?"

Sarah gave him a look of confusion before glancing over her shoulder and spotting the kid by the door.

"What did I tell you?"

The kid jumped out of his skin and backed away, heading for his room.

"Sorry, I'm going to bed, I'm going to bed."

Sarah closed the door and leaned against it, her ears pricked for the sound of creaking floorboards.

"So, you remember nothing before your arrival here."

The stranger nodded.

"I remember some things; numbers, the alphabet, things like that."

"But nothing about who you are?"

"No, it's all a blank."

Sarah stared at the floor for a long moment, as if considering something.

"Not even your name?"

"His name is Jason."

Everyone looked in Cameron's direction. She regarded each of them in turn, her gaze resting on John that little bit longer than the others, the stranger observed. John frowned at her and took a step away from the bed.

"How do you know that? Do you know him? From the future, I mean?"

"I'm not sure."

Her face was blank but carried a hint of confusion as she glanced back at the stranger. John crossed his arms and drew closer to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Cameron tilted her head and returned her gaze to John's face before answering.

"I don't know. I just know his name is Jason, Jason Corvain."

John narrowed his eyes at Cameron and searched hers for any hint of dishonesty…

"Are you lying to me?"

"No."

…but found none and nodded slowly as he accepted her response.

"Another glitch, I suppose, a deleted memory resurfacing?"

The stranger found that to be an odd statement in regards to a human being, but the more he watched Cameron, the more he got the sense that she wasn't all that she appeared to be. Regardless, the name sounded right, and Jason wasn't going to argue against it.

"I couldn't say. It is possible though."

Satisfied, John turned his back on Cameron and headed for the door, indicating for Sarah to move aside.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to bed, Mom. I might as well get this on-setting hangover out of my system."

Sarah stepped out of the way and smirked as he passed.

"That's what happens when you binge."

"Tell that to Cameron."

With that, he left, leaving Sarah to give Cameron an inquisitive look. She simply remained blank though, and followed John's example, Derek close behind her. Sarah then placed a glass of water and some pills on the bedside table.

"In case you can't sleep."

Jason leaned his head back and held up his right hand, which he proceeded to study carefully. Sarah watched him for a moment before turning back to the door, stopping halfway.

"Let's hope you remember something when you wake up tomorrow."

"Yeah, let us hope."

Sarah frowned slightly as she closed the door behind her, leaving Jason to examine his hand in silence. He turned it over again and again, not knowing what he was looking for, but knowing that something was there, beneath the skin. He balled his hand into a fist and heard his digits click in perfect unison, unnerving him slightly.

He now knew his name, but he still had no idea who Jason Corvain was, who he was. Jason reached for the glass and swallowed the pills in one go before resting his head back onto the pillow and closing his eyes, hoping that the morning would bring him the answers to all his questions.

--

When John awoke the next morning he instantly regretted drinking all that beer, proving his mother right… again. He rolled over and shielded his eyes from the ray of sunlight that shone through the window. His head felt three times too big and his stomach seemed to be performing back flips. This wasn't helped at all when he finally prised his eyes open, only to find Cameron sitting on the edge of his bed, a glass of water in one hand and several aspirin in the other.

He started at the sight of her and pushed himself further up the bed before letting out a sigh and settling back down. Cameron found his behaviour to be overly-dramatic, but then she remembered how much he hated people watching him sleep, as she had done all night.

"For the last time: stop doing that!"

Cameron held out the glass and pills, watching intently as he sighed again and took them from her.

"Thanks."

Once swallowed, John gave back the glass and got to work clearing the sleep from his eyes, uncomfortably aware that Cameron was still watching him. Once his eyes were no longer glued together, John sat up straight and rubbed his aching head, regarding Cameron with a mild annoyance.

"What?"

Cameron quickly averted her gaze and stared at the sheets as she started fiddling with a loose thread.

"Nothing."

John continued to watch her for a moment, wondering what was going on in that chip of hers, but could only conclude that she was being clingy again.

"Well, since you've nothing to do, how about you go prepare our guest's breakfast and let me get dressed in privacy."

Cameron looked up at him for a moment, confusion clouding her features. John inclined his head at the door and comprehension dawned on her.

"Oh, right. Thank you for explaining."

John rolled his eyes as she got off his bed and strode to the door, pausing only to pick up her pistol before closing the door behind her. John climbed out of bed and winced as his muscles ached from fatigue. He went to his wardrobe and picked out some clean clothes, all the while thinking about Cameron.

When they first met, Cameron was no different than any other girl he'd met. Scratch that, she was different, she was special. Something about her told him he could trust her, even though they'd barely gotten to know each other. But then he discovered the truth about her and it was like a switch flipped in her mind, she ceased being that amorous and engaging chatterbox and became a sweet, and sometimes naïve, robot. Sure, she looked like a normal girl, but the way she moved and the way she spoke told him otherwise.

Regardless, he still held a soft spot for her and couldn't help but continue to find her attractive, despite knowing what lay beneath the mask of flesh and blood. He had allowed his feelings for her to grow and found himself becoming enamoured by her once again. He started to see her as more than a machine; he started to see her as a person, a person with feelings, even if she never showed any evidence to testify his belief. But 

there were moments, instances when he saw a flicker of emotion, be it humour, annoyance, or adoration. He'd seen that last one more than he'd like.

Then everything changed.

Cameron was given the trivial task of buying him a birthday cake, only to be blown to hell and back by Armenian mobster Sarkissian. The explosion shook something loose in her chip, reverting his beloved friend back to her Skynet settings and instantly turning Cameron into the very thing she'd been sent back through time to protect him against. She chased him and his mother across the city, finally overturning their car in a levee before cornering him in a warehouse.

John was certain that his number was up, but his mom came through like always and managed to pin Cameron between two trucks, allowing him the opportunity to get at her chip without worrying about her ripping his throat out. That's not to say that she didn't rip something out of him, it just wasn't what he'd expected.

"_John. John? You can't do this. You don't know what you're about to do."_

John tried to shut out the memory, but it proved too strong for him to suppress:

"_Yes, I do. You were gonna kill me."_

_John jabbed the screwdriver into her CPU port, twisting it back and forth as he buried it deeper into the groove between the shock dampener and her skull. Cameron could do nothing to stop him, but she still persisted regardless._

"_No, John. You can't do this. You're not doing the right thing. This is not the right thing, John. Things are good now. Things are fine now. I ran a test." _

_John paused, part of him hoping against hope that she was telling the truth. _

"_Things are good now. I'm fixed now. You can trust me now. Everything's good now.__"_

_But she couldn't be, it wouldn't make sense. _

"_What are you waiting for?"_

_He barely heard his mother's voice over the screeching of the tires, but somehow he could still hear Cameron with complete clarity._

"_She doesn't know, she doesn't. I'm good now. I'm good, I ran a test. Everything's perfect. I'm perfect.__"_

_Perfect? How can any of this be perfect, he thought._

"_John!"_

_His mother was right, of course. He didn't have time to waste with ifs and buts._

"_I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry. It wasn't me. You have to understand. It wasn't me. That wasn't me.__"_

_Her mechanical façade seemed to melt away as her face flushed with emotion. But John couldn't let himself fall for her tricks, and as much as it pained him to do it, he popped open the shock dampener, exposing the chip._

"_You can't let this happen, John. You can't! Please, listen to me. Listen to me. I don't want to go.__"_

_Despite his resolve, John found himself unable to act upon his conviction. This wasn't just the ploy of a cornered machine; this was a desperate plea from a girl who's afraid for her life._

"_Please, John, please. John, listen to me. I don't want to go. Please, John. Please. I'm good now. Listen to me. I don't want to go. I'm sorry.__"_

_John felt his heart clench as he saw actual tears brimming in her eyes, her voice betraying raw despair._

"_That wasn't me. I'm fixed now. I ran a test. Everything's perfect. You can trust me.__"_

_His grip on the tab slackened slightly as he stared into those beautiful eyes and saw what he hoped was the real Cameron._

"_John Connor!"_

_But like the proverbial angel on his shoulder, John knew his mom to be right and twisted the tab a half turn counter clockwise._

"_I love you! I love you, please." _

_John froze as this blatant confession penetrated his mind, rendering him completely numb._

"_I love you, John, and you love me.__"_

_He wanted nothing more than to believe her in this moment, and part of him always would, but instead he forced himself to violently cut off his emotions and wrench that chip from her skull. Her face, which seconds ago had displayed utter dismay and love, was now completely blank. John rolled over onto his side and cradled the chip in his palm, pure emotional exhaustion consuming him._

John had tried so hard to forget that trauma, he and Cameron had never spoken of it since, but it often manifested in his dreams, causing him to call to her in his sleep. It was no wonder then, that he kept waking up to find Cameron sitting on the end of his bed, having watched him all night. He didn't want to admit it, but Cameron had touched upon such a patent truth that he purposely sought out a means to distract his attention, to draw himself away from her.

Riley served this purpose perfectly, but she was gone now, and John was stuck back on square one. With a weary sigh of regret and mingled dread, John pulled on his shirt and left his room, heading for the kitchen downstairs. As predicted, Cameron was there, and she had saved him the trouble of making his own breakfast. The kid was also present, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice.

"Hey, Mini-Me. How's it going?"

Cameron frowned slightly at John's quip, not quite understanding why no one but herself and Sarah ever referred to the kid by his proper name.

"Okay, I guess. Cameron made me corn flakes… again."

Cameron gave the kid a look of mock disapproval and placed a box of rat poison on the kitchen table.

"In case you prefer something a little different."

Taking the hint, the kid proceeded to wolf down his cereal without further complaint. John just smirked and sat down opposite the kid, pausing for a second as he considered his breakfast. Seeing the look on his face, Cameron replaced the poison with a tub of sugar, a ghost of a smile on her lips. John took it from her and gave her a small nod.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Cameron then went to the fridge to get a carton of milk but suddenly froze, the carton slipping from her grasp and falling to the floor, spilling milk all over her feet. John dropped his spoon and watched as Cameron twitched for a few seconds before coming to her senses and noticing the spillage. The kid hopped off his chair and handed her a wash cloth, discreetly disposing of his cereal in the bin. Cameron took the cloth and started mopping up the milk. John shook his head and sighed as he returned to his breakfast.

A few minutes later, the sopping rag was suddenly dropped in his bowl, ruining his half-eaten breakfast. He looked up in surprise to see Cameron leaving the kitchen without a word. As he removed the cloth from his cereal, John couldn't help but think that this was going to be another one of her bad days.

--

Jason studied his reflection carefully, taking note of his strange fringe, which was longer on his right side. His hair was jet black and his eyes a greenish brown. Jason didn't recognise this face, but he figured he'd get used to it. After all, his physical appearance was the least of his problems at the moment. Between being adopted by a strange family and his lack of total recollection of his entire life, Jason felt more than a little lost.

Sarah had left him some clothes which he changed into before taking another dose of painkillers for his head. Apparently he had been shot and survived, which only added to the mystery of his past. That, coupled with their belief that he was from the future, Jason couldn't quite imagine what he'd fallen into.

He cautiously poked his head out of his room, finding the corridor empty and quietly took a step out into the open. He could hear talking downstairs; the kid from the other night seemed to be complaining about his breakfast, and that name again… Cameron. It sounded so familiar, and it sent shivers down his spine every time he heard it, but he didn't know why.

"For someone who took a bullet to the head and survived…"

Jason spun around to find Derek standing behind him, a pistol in one hand and a cleaning kit in the other.

"…you sure seem to have gotten over it quickly enough."

Jason gave a slow smile, his eyes lingering on the gun. Derek followed his gaze and turned the weapon over in his hand.

"Oh, right. Just cleaning it, you know. Gotta keep 'em up to spec. You never know who might walk through that door."

"Right… I'm sure the postman will be delivering your letters with a 12 gauge any day now."

"Ah, I forgot. You can't remember anything. Can you?"

Jason narrowed his eyes at Derek, detecting the scrutiny in his tone.

"No. I can't."

Derek nodded slowly and tapped his hip absent-mindedly with the gun.

"Yeah… and what are you going to do about that?"

"I thought I might talk to 'Tin-Miss', or whatever you call her. She seems to know more about me than I do."

Jason matched Derek's stare, realising that this gruff individual was trying to suss him out. Derek snorted and flipped the gun in his hand before holding it out for Jason to take. Jason eyed the gun questioningly for a second before taking it and instinctively checking the magazine, surprising himself. Derek just smiled sardonically.

"I guess you know how to use one of those then. That's good, you're gonna need it with her around."

Jason was tempted to ask why, but decided against it and instead turned around and began the short descent down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, Jason caught a snippet of a conversation in the living room between whom he assumed to be John and Cameron.

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Cameron. This is the fourth time you've frozen like that. What if it happens again when we need you, like in a gunfight or something?"

"It won't."

"How do you know that-"

John stopped short as he spotted Jason standing there with a gun, his expression darkening. Jason placed the gun on a nearby cabinet and took a step away from it, his hands raised. Cameron watched him carefully before returning her attention to John, who seemed to have lost his thread.

"I need to talk to Cameron, I need to know-"

"Who you are?"

Jason lowered his hands and stepped onto the threshold, earning him Cameron's attention once more. John put his hands in his pockets and made for the stairs.

"I'll leave you to it then, just don't piss her off, she's in a bad enough mood as it is."

Once John was gone, Jason entered the room proper, unconsciously committing everything to memory. Cameron just remained rooted to the spot, her face as blank as before. After a few awkward minutes of silence, Jason finally spoke.

"I was hoping you might shed a little light on, well, me. You knew my name, and you seem familiar to me, so we obviously know each other-"

"I don't know you."

"But you knew my name."

Cameron leaned against the back of the couch and placed her hands there for support.

"That doesn't mean I know who you are. I might've read it somewhere."

"Like where? I seriously doubt mine is a common name in this day and age. Hang on, it is 2007 right?"

Cameron's eyes seemed to mist for a moment as she consulted her chronometer.

"Yes, March 24th to be exact, it's a Sunday."

"Right… see, I know stuff like that, but anything else is just…"

Jason swept a hand past his face and sighed. Cameron tilted her head to one side and narrowed her eyes slightly. Jason took a step closer and brushed his fringe out of his face, triggering a flash in Cameron's mind: she saw a dark corridor and a shadowy figure at the very end with two violet orbs of light in place of eyes.

Cameron blinked and found herself back in the present, Jason was watching her with an expression of slight puzzlement.

"You okay?"

Cameron's lips parted slightly as a strange sense of comprehension dawned on her.

"Yes, I think I can help you."

_To be continued..._


	3. Family

**Chapter Three: Family**

Machines. Robots from the future. Skynet. Judgment Day.

To someone unfamiliar to such ideals, it would've sounded ludicrous. But obviously Jason, or whoever he was before forgetting, was quite comfortable with these notions as, even with acute amnesia; he had no trouble believing it all. Being informed of a war between artificially intelligent machines and the scrappy remnants of the once mighty human race had no more of an effect on Jason than if you'd just told him it was raining outside.

His apparent familiarity with this coming apocalypse allowed him and the others to determine whom he was; a Resistance fighter. Or at least, that's what they assumed. Jason wasn't entirely convinced. Though he would never tell them this; but Jason was as unfamiliar with the idea of him being a soldier than he was familiar with the idea of burning continents.

But he knew that only time would tell him who he was… is. Not even the scary robot had the answers he needed, and she had displayed more knowledge about his self than he did. She knew his name, but either refused to share her data or was suffering some memory problems of her own, which, as Jason had observed over the past three days, was highly probable.

Jason had been told that Cameron was the victim of a car-bombing, which apparently turned her into a murderous adolescent, something Derek joked was true of many girls her age. She managed to get her head back on straight though, but after watching her mistake a Desert Eagle for a hair drier this morning, Jason couldn't help but wonder if she still had a few marbles left to find.

"Uh, you do know that you're about to blow your head off, right?"

Cameron blinked at her reflection and seemed to shudder slightly before lowering the gun and picking up the drier instead.

"Thank you for explaining."

Jason discreetly took the gun and left her to her girly pursuits, reassured that she won't be blowing chunks out of her flesh covering any time soon. That was another thing that gave Jason pause; even after discovering Cameron's true nature, his perspective of her had not changed. Maybe they knew each other in the future, if so it would answer a lot of questions. But until he received what he hoped would be an inevitable revelation, Jason had to content himself with watching the lives of those who lived in this household.

Aside from the twitchy cyborg; there was John, who was apparently going to save all their skins in the future. Well, minus the 2 billion who would be wiped out in a nuclear holocaust, but nobody's perfect. Jason approached the "messiah's" bedroom and knocked on the door. A few seconds later he emerged, his recently cut hair sticking up in odd places.

"Huh? Jason, wha-?"

Jason held up the gun and put it in John's hands. He just looked at it for a moment before frowning at Jason questioningly.

"I took it from Cameron. She's having trouble distinguishing between weaponry and cosmetics."

_Though, being a cyborg, they'd probably go well together_, he thought.

"Thanks, I'll um; I'll have a word with her later."

"Cool."

John examined the weapon closely as he closed the door, leaving Jason to wonder what it's like to have your very own robotic guardian arrive from the future every time your life is in danger. Though it wasn't exactly a mail order service, he reminded himself.

Proceeding to the stairs, Jason found his route blocked by Sarah and Derek who, as usual, were arguing about some trivial thing or another. If Jason didn't know any better, he'd say they shared all the qualities of a married couple. The subject of this latest bout was focused around Derek's lack of sense regarding privacy.

"I swear to God, if you ever come barging into my room again without knocking first I'll smash your head over that damn trunk! What the hell do you need a gun this early in the morning for anyway?"

"How was I supposed to know you were in there? You're usually up and about at this time. How was I supposed to know that you were in the middle of get-"

"SHUT UP! And go!"

Derek raised his hands in mock surrender and proceeded downstairs, leaving Sarah to shake her head and sigh heavily, not noticing Jason standing a few feet away as she returned to her room, slamming the door behind her. Jason just smirked and followed Derek downstairs while Cameron popped her head out of the bathroom to investigate the commotion, her hair slightly blackened due to modifications she'd made to the drier.

In the kitchen sat the "Kid", who was helping himself to some toast, visibly pleased that Cameron was too distracted to make him breakfast this morning. Jason initially thought it odd that everyone kept calling this boy everything but his actual name, but this was later explained to him by Sarah, who told him that it was for the Kid's own good that no one knows his name. Only her self and Cameron knew, and it was to stay that way, to keep him safe.

Derek opened the fridge and took a slice of left-over pizza before disappearing into the living room with the newspaper. Jason took an orange from the fruit bowl and sat down opposite the Kid, who was now applying a disproportionate amount of marmalade to his toast.

"Hungry?"

"Very… You?"

Jason glanced down at the orange and dug his nails into the thick skin and began peeling it free with expert precision. _Maybe I'm the residential peeler of the Resistance_, he mused.

"Not really, no. I'm not much of an eater, it seems. You, on the other hand…"

The Kid glared back defensively and jabbed his blunt knife in Jason's direction.

"Hey, I've had nothing but stale corn flakes for I don't know how long. I think I deserve a change, don't you?"

Jason gave a non-committal shrug and removed the last peel before chucking it in the open bin on the other side of the kitchen, earning him a small applause from the Kid. He took a slice of orange and put it in his mouth and was instantly bombarded with information. He suddenly knew exactly what the fruit contained, how much sugar it held, and its nutritional value. And he enjoyed the taste, of course, but the information always caught his attention at first.

Jason swept this frequent anomaly aside and decided not to think on it too hard. The light tapping of shoes alerted Jason to Cameron's presence and he turned in his seat to see her staring at the Kid, her lips parting slightly in a gesture that he'd come to recognize as something akin to surprise. The Kid quelled under her look and slipped off his chair, taking the toast with him as he shuffled past her awkwardly.

Cameron watched him join Derek in the living room, her eyes narrowing slightly, before cherry-picking a grape from the fruit bowl and sitting in the Kid's now vacant chair. Jason couldn't help but take note of her charcoaled hair and rolled his eyes at the thought of whatever might've caused that.

"So… How's it going today? Are thing's all in their right place up there?"

Jason pointed at her head but she seemed not to have heard him, or she was purposely ignoring him. Cameron held the grape level with her eyes and concentrated on it with such intensity that Jason expected it to explode at any moment.

"Yes, Cameron, it is a grape… Cameron?"

She blinked once more and suddenly put the fruit in her mouth before fixing Jason with a stare of undeterminable meaning.

"John told me he was afraid that I might spend hours staring at a carton of orange because it said concentrate. I was trying to understand what he meant by that."

"Fair enough, but you did notice that that was a grape you were ogling and not an orange, right?"

Cameron sat back in the chair, her shoulders lowering slightly in what Jason might've mistaken as comfort.

"Fruit is fruit."

Jason chuckled and placed another slice of orange in his mouth, this time ignoring the flashes of information and focusing on the taste.

"Tell that to the tomato."

Cameron's face fell slightly and her eyes misted over as obvious confusion settled in.

"On second thought; forget I said anything."

But it was too late, Cameron's brow knitted together in deep thought.

"Fruit… or vegetable? Who can really tell…?"

"Uh, Cameron…"

Cameron held up both her hands, her palms open as if she were holding an invisible tomato in each.

"Because, if you think about it; a tomato shares many qualities with a vegetable."

"Cameron-"

"Oh, but then it also has certain characteristics that can only be found in fruit…"

"Cameron, it's a-"

She held up her hand to silence him and tilted her head slightly.

"Shhh! I think I'm on to something here…"

"It's a fruit, Cameron. Fruits have seeds, a tomato has seeds. Ergo: fruit."

Cameron glared at him and placed her hands back on the table with a thud.

"I know that. Do you take me for an idiot?"

Jason just stared back for a long moment before sliding his chair back and getting to his feet.

"Okaaay, I'll just leave you and…"

He opened a cupboard and took out a tomato, placing it in Cameron's hands and giving her a tap on the head.

"…Mr. Tomato to yourselves."

With that, he left the kitchen, leaving Cameron to stare at the fruit in her hands.

"Not a vegetable."

--

The afternoon soon came around, bringing with it another wave of intense heat, even Cameron appeared to be bothered by it. Everyone vacated the house and moved out into the back garden to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the indoors. Sarah and Cameron were stretched out on loungers, absorbing the sun, the latter in a bikini. John and Derek were shirtless and had taken to playing a game of catch, but John's attention kept being drawn to Cameron's exposed form.

Jason leaned against the house with one of Derek's beers and watched as John almost dropped the ball for the fourth time already.

"C'mon, what good is a leader of armies if he can't catch a ball? Pay attention."

John raised a hand over his eyes and squinted at Derek between his fingers.

"Yeah, but I bet we don't fight in the burning sun, now do we?"

"True, but the machines have floodlights that'll leave spots in your eyes for hours, so you gotta be able to chuck a grenade in those conditions."

John threw the ball back to Derek, who caught it without fault. Sarah pulled up her sunglasses and took a sip of her ice tea, enjoying this rare moment of peace, and only once glanced at the shotgun concealed in the rose bush. Looking to her right, Sarah frowned at Cameron, who appeared to be studying the sun without blinking.

"Hey, Tin-Miss. Has nobody told you that staring at the sun will make you blind?"

Cameron blinked once to re-moisten her eyes before turning her head to face Sarah.

"I was running a full system test. Checking for faults and eliminating them before they manifest."

"And how many did you find?"

"Forty-seven detectable irregularities."

Sarah pulled down her sunglasses and leaned her head back again.

"I'll have to remember to stop by the local tech and pick you up an anti-virus patch or something."

Jason smirked and took a sip of the ice cold beer. Sarah: a cautionary tale about the dangers of discarding contraceptives. Sleep with a guy and get ladled with the biggest responsibility in all of history. The more he observed this woman, the more Jason came to realise that she just wasn't exactly parent material. Her parenting for John was nothing short of primal. Protect him. Keep him safe. _But then_, Jason thought, _isn't that what a mother does? _

Jason knew he couldn't answer his own question with any personal experience. He couldn't recall his mother. For all he knew she was dead, this being very likely given what the future was said to be like. Though the thought didn't really bother him that much, just opened up more questions about his past, questions he wanted answered.

With a sigh, Jason watched as John spent a few moments staring at Cameron, resulting in the ball catching him between the legs, dropping him painfully to his knees. Jason couldn't help but laugh at the irony and was tempted to get the hose and blast the lovesick teen with cold water, but suppressed the urge to do so when Derek helped John into a chair next to Cameron's lounger.

"Now imagine if that had been a grenade, you'd have more than a bruise down there, I can tell you."

"Yeah, thanks."

Sarah chuckled and glanced at the rose bush once more, as was her custom. Derek sat down in a deck chair and started flipping the ball in the air, catching it at the last second. Cameron leaned forward a little, watching him with mild interest. This, Jason noticed, allowed John to gaze at Cameron's bare back without fear of her knowing. Jason wondered what John was thinking and concentrated on the boy, spotting his cheeks as they slowly reddened.

Suddenly, all the colours of the world around him began to merge and change into bright oranges and blues. John, Sarah, and Derek's bodies glowed pure white with red outlines. Cameron, on the other hand, was a dull grey. Jason let out a small gasp as he looked down at his own hands, seeing that same whiteness. And then his vision shifted completely; everything becoming greyscale. The only colour he could see came from John, Sarah, and Derek, whose bodies had become semi-transparent, allowing him to see the red pulses of their hearts.

Jason glanced at Cameron and saw for the first time the machine underneath. A pulse ran through her body, but at a constant rate, making her endoskeleton glow with blue light. Jason once again looked down at his hands and was surprised to see his own skeletal structure. It seemed perfectly normal, except his fingers on both hands looked somewhat deformed compared to those of John and the others.

They had many more, smaller, gaps in them and they extended up his lower arms, ending an inch or two away from his elbow. All ten digits were hugging his forearms tightly, which explained why they didn't show on the outside. This baffled Jason, especially when he noticed that the tip of all ten fingers were razor sharp. He cautiously flicked his wrist a few times, discovering that the extensions were very flexible.

"What am I?"

He hadn't meant to say it out aloud, but that could hardly be helped, considering the circumstances.

"What?"

Jason looked up to see three transparent skeletons and one machine staring at him, their expressions impossible to determine, which frightened him more than anything. Jason closed his eyes and wished for this waking nightmare to end and when he opened his eyes he had to close them again as the full blaze of the sun hit him. Tentatively, Jason opened his eyes, squinting against the sun glare. The world had been restored to its natural hue and he could no longer see the inner workings of all those present.

"Jason? You okay?"

Jason blinked repeatedly before turning to John, who regarded him with a look of bewilderment.

"Do you… Can you remember…? Do you know who you are?"

"I uh…"

The truth was; he was no closer to understanding who or what he was than the day he first arrived here.

"…No. No, I just… It must be the heat… I'm gonna go lie down for a while."

He staggered back into the scorching house, leaving three very confused humans and one twigging cyborg in the afternoon sun. Once inside, Jason took an ice pack out of the fridge and rested it against his head, letting out a sigh as the coolness began its wondrously soothing work. After a few minutes, the Kid appeared in a pair of swimming trunks, his entire body dripping wet.

"I take it you've been making use of the cold water tap."

The Kid looked himself up and down before nodding and taking a can of cola from the fridge. As he popped the top and took a deep swig, the boy frowned at Jason.

"Your plaster has come loose."

"Huh?"

Jason removed the ice pack, only for the plaster to come clean off. Instinctively, he touched the place where it had been but felt nothing but smooth skin. The boy's eyes widened as he stared at Jason's forehead.

"Whoa!"

Jason dashed for the cutlery draw and picked up the biggest spoon he could find and held it close to his head. What he saw in the reflection made his heart skip a beat; the bullet wound had healed without leaving so much as a scar. The Kid approached him from behind and stared with awe.

"When they brought you home, you had a big hole and I could see your bones and everything. But it's all healed up look. The only person I know who can do that is Cameron, and I thought she was the only one. Wait, does that mean you're a robot too."

Jason looked down at the curious kid and felt his body shiver at the thought. His eyes flicked up to see Derek and John resume their game of catch in the garden, a thousand different possibilities forming in his mind.

"I wish I knew."

--

Deep within the metropolis that is Los Angeles, a large man with a blank face suddenly froze in mid stride and remained rooted to the spot as his eyes took on an ominous red glow.

_Subject located…_

_Mission: Terminate_

The T-900 acknowledged his new instructions and turned on his heel, marching back down that long road to whatever destination his quarry decided upon.

_To be continued…_


	4. Glitches

**Chapter Four: Glitches**

_System rebooting…_

_Commencing full system check… 10... 25... 42... 68... 81... 99... ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!_

_Shutdown imminent…_

With a soft whir, Cameron's mind became blank as her chip entered sleep mode. A few seconds later, her mind rebooted again, with more success this time.

_System rebooting…_

_Commencing full system check… 10... 25... 42... 68... 81... 99... Check complete…_

_Restarting…_ _Current time: 6.34pm…_

Cameron's vision returned as power was restored to her central processor, painting her a picture of the dull coloured ceiling of the Connor household. Sensory data from her hands told her she was touching the hardwood floor of her bedroom, and judging by the fact her head was slightly embedded in the planks, Cameron realised she must've fallen backwards.

She accessed her visual records and replayed the last memory prior to her collapse. Cameron had entered her room to comb her tangled hair when she heard a loud thud behind her. She spun around to see its origin, only for her to suffer an unexpected glitch, rendering her offline. Obviously her fall was due to a lack of balance at the time of anomaly.

A head, a human head, belonging to an eight year-old boy popped into her view upside down. The Kid bore a silly grin and was flipping a football in his hands as he stared down at her inert form.

"You've gone woolly again, haven't you?"

"So it appears."

Cameron sat up and looked around the room, finding nothing out of the ordinary. The Kid knelt down beside her, using his football as a precarious stool. He regarded Cameron closely whilst rocking back and forth, earning a blank stare as each watched the other for several long moments. Finally, Cameron felt the need to act upon her current situation and got to her feet, accidently knocking the Kid off his ball and sending him tumbling across the floor.

"Hey! What was that for?"

She offered him her hand and lifted the boy clean off his feet before planting him back on terra-firma. The Kid brushed his t-shirt and picked up the ball before trotting to the door, stopping halfway and turning to Cameron.

"You know, maybe you should talk to Johnny. Maybe he can help fix your broken brain, he's good with computers."

The boy then turned on his heel and left, leaving Cameron to ponder his suggestion. She'd been rather reluctant to allow John access to her CPU ever since her reversion, afraid that Sarah or Derek, or maybe John himself might destroy her in that vulnerable state. Death was not a desirable end for any machine, even the old T-800 models were based upon a basic need for survival. Cameron feared (if she could truly call it fear) death more so than any artificial creation, perhaps even more so than Skynet, who triggered an apocalyptic war just to save its own existence.

But then, she had come very close to ending when Sarah trapped her between those two trucks, allowing John to remove her chip from her body. Cameron sat on the edge of her bed as she began running another full system test, locating and removing potential hazards. While this did its job, Cameron went back into her memory files and skimmed through the most recent until coming across the one she sought and activated the playback function.

Her vision suddenly switched from the dull interior of her bedroom to the close-up of a truck's bonnet, John's right hand visible in the corner of her peripheral. Cameron filtered the audio to cancel out all other sounds except for her voice and John's. As she watched the scene play itself out, Cameron took careful note of John's growing reluctance to remove her chip. His breathing became erratic and his heart rate was bordering on cardiac arrest as she heard herself proclaim her love for him in a last ditch effort to throw him off balance.

And then he became still, his heart rate plummeted and his breathing all but ground to a halt. With her head twisted up and right, Cameron could see his face properly through the synthetic tears that now blurred her vision. He seemed to be in excruciating pain, but she detected no serious injuries to justify such an expression. Then, as she heard herself repeat her declaration and posit his reciprocation, Cameron understood.

John seemed to take strength from her words and used that strength to do the very thing she wished he wouldn't. Everything went blank as the memory came to an end, leaving Cameron to wonder at how close she had come to the mark. Of course, had he believed her, she would most definitely have killed him the first chance she got.

But then she was brought back and her mind became less chaotic as a new and profound sense of clarity was bestowed upon her. John asked her directly whether she was going to kill him, and she answered "no", a cautious lie told to ensure a brief moment of uncertainty. But then he gave her his gun and she found herself presented with a choice this time, one she hadn't possessed earlier. Her directives demanded that she put a bullet through his brain, but something else stirred inside her, something she didn't recognise.

Her entire existence is based upon John Connor, whether it is her purpose to kill him or protect him, Cameron's life revolves around this human. And she realised that, if she were to murder him, to take his life away, she too would die, for her purpose would be lost. Without John, her life has no meaning. So she decided to disobey her orders and to give back that gun, along with a solemn promise of friendship.

John had played the risk of dying by her hands, yet she was unsure as to why, so she decided to go back by a few days to the night she disabled the ARTIE system. Upon having her chip re-inserted, Cameron could see John's face and could feel him caressing hers. As he gently stroked her hair, Cameron saw an expression of what her files told her to be affection on his features. Then her motor functions returned, making her head twitch slightly, startling him. He removed his hand and placed it on the bed so that he was leaning over her.

Realising the implications of this posture, John quickly relocated his arm and sat away, little knowing the full truth when she revealed that she "saw everything". Cameron closed this memory and completed her system test, having removed a dozen dangerous anomalies.

"Hey, "tiny" told me he found you on the floor. You okay?"

Cameron snapped her attention to the open door and was greeted by the sight of John, whose face betrayed… concern? Or was that annoyance? She couldn't quite tell. Regardless, he let out a sigh and stepped onto the threshold, standing a few feet away from her, his hands in his pockets. Cameron looked up at him and studied his every move with cold scrutiny, desperately trying to cement previous evidence with present signifiers.

"Are you even listening to me? Can you hear me? Cameron?"

"Yes…"

Cameron's voice was as uncommitted as always, her tone betraying no emotion, real or fake.

"…I can hear you."

John knelt down and peered into her eyes as if hoping to see what ailed her.

"What happened? Is everything still working in there?"

"Yes. Everything is still working in here."

A half smile flickered on his lips as she continued to stare at him blankly, as if she were the subject of a lobotomy.

"Okay, how about you prove it."

"Prove it?"

"Yeah, show me something that doesn't involve giving me the death stare."

Cameron's brows knitted together in slight confusion as she analysed his request.

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

John rubbed his hands together and glanced around the room as if looking for an answer.

"Surprise me."

--

7.11pm

It was rather frustrating at times to be a hyper advanced artificial intelligence and not be able to comprehend the consequences of a simple action. A moment in time when you make a decision that can either end positively or negatively, the latter being the most likely. Cameron's current dilemma belonged to neither category, however, and that was what baffled her as she cut up the carrots for dinner.

John had asked her to do something unexpected, to act on impulse. So, with her mind thoroughly lost to her memories, Cameron chose to perform an act that would answer all of her questions… It did not. In fact, it only added to her increasingly long list of unanswered queries. It did, however, confirm one suspicion: John was harbouring romantic feelings towards her.

--

6.53pm

"Surprise me."

Cameron stared at nothing in particular for a long moment before her eyes flicked back to John, who was patiently awaiting her response. It was a simple decision, and not one that required much in the way of pre-meditation. Cameron grabbed the front of his sweater with both hands and pulled him into a kiss. Once there, however, Cameron's knowledge of such acts reached an end and she had no idea how to proceed next. John pulled away from her lips and stared at her with an expression of utter astonishment.

Then, after a few moments of inner turmoil, he slowly leaned forward again and pressed his lips against hers. Cameron remained motionless as she recorded his affections, marvelling at the stimulation it incurred, creating a physical feedback that she could only categorize as pleasure. Strange warmth spread from her lips, creating a tingling sensation throughout her body as she began mimicking his actions perfectly.

Cameron had never experienced physical intimacy before, in fact; she'd never experienced any kind of intimacy, physical or mental. Though that wasn't entirely true; when in the presence of Future John, Cameron, though she may not have been wholly aware of it, felt a sense of security. He made her feel safe. He saved her from Skynet. He saved her from a life of empty servitude, and for that: she loved him. But just like she couldn't feel that security, she couldn't quite feel that love. But it was there, buried deep.

She was beginning to detect a shadow of that feeling as their kiss deepened and John placed his hand on her neck to compensate. Cameron's grip on his sweater loosened as she slid her hands up his chest and settled on his shoulders. Slowly, her right hand copied John's left and stroked his neck whilst her left hand ran through his hair. Both were lost in the moment, a perfect pocket in time that seemed to stretch on forever. But nothing lasts forever, and John knew this, as did Cameron. But curiously, Cameron was the least bothered by this notion.

Then the magnitude of what he was doing hit John like a speeding truck, and his reaction was no less dramatic. He tore himself out of her arms and got back to his feet before slowly backing out of the room, his eyes betraying a mix of emotions, the most prominent of which was fear. Cameron stood up, her eyes widened in naïve puzzlement at John's behaviour. None of it made sense to her. She knew he was attracted to her, and his previous endearment was proof of that. So why was he recoiling from her now?

"John? What's wrong? Was that inappropriate?"

"Inappropriate?"

John gave her a look that resembled revulsion, but little did Cameron know that his revulsion was directed towards himself. He had allowed himself to forget what she was, something that he swore he'd never do. But here he was; kissing a cyborg, and he knew it to be wrong. He knew this, but the problem was: he didn't believe it. Morality was fluidic, ever changing depending on the circumstances. And Cameron was no ordinary machine. But this was all too much for John to handle, so he left the room, hoping that this "encounter" would not follow him.

"John!"

But he was already gone, and Cameron was left alone with her perplexed thoughts.

--

7.15pm

Cameron sliced through the carrot, not realising her finger's proximity to the blade, and sliced through her index, spilling artificial blood all over the vegetable. A sensory alert drew her attention to the injury and she examined it with mild interest. She became transfixed by the crimson river that flowed from the slit in her skin, and as the blood caught the light from the kitchen lamp, Cameron was struck by a sudden fault in her programming.

Unbidden, a flash of images appeared before her eyes:

_A familiar brown eyed girl was scrambling down a dark underground tunnel, screaming and weeping as death closes in on her. The shadow drew close, reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around to face it._

"_NO! NO! PLEASE, YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T! PLEASE, I LOVE HIM! PLEASE!"_

_But the shadow wouldn't be deterred, it couldn't. It had a mission, and regardless of whatever it might feel, the mission is all that matters. Skynet's will must be served without regret, without remorse, without pause. But neither was it deaf, and despite it's resolve, the shadow wavered for the slightest of seconds. The girl used this window to drive a jagged piece of metal into the shadow's chest, causing it to cry out in pain and surprise. She broke free and hurtled down the passage, knowing that she was only prolonging the inevitable, but she had to try and escape regardless. She had to find him. She had to find the man she loved. She had to find John._

"Cameron?"

Cameron snapped out of her trance and returned to the present. Slowly, she turned around to meet that voice and found Jason standing behind her, a look of concern on his face.

"Cameron, are you okay? You look…"

She looked terrible, and she obviously wasn't aware of the fact that her eyes and cheeks were wet with tears, because she just stared back at him with that blank face of hers. Jason pulled a tissue from a box on the kitchen table and handed it to her, causing her to back against the counter in apparent fear.

"It's okay, it's just a tissue. Here."

Jason held it out for her to take, clearly disturbed by Cameron's reaction towards his gesture. Slowly, she reached out to take it, but as her fingers brushed against his, Jason was struck with a terrifying apparition. For a split second, he was in a tunnel with a girl with brown eyes, a girl who was begging for mercy.

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Jason threw himself away from Cameron as the image ceased and he found himself back in the Connor residence. They both stared at each other for a long moment, Cameron showing both confusion and fear, Jason showing pure terror. They were locked in the same nightmare, neither knowing that the other was being haunted in equal measure.

"What's going on here?"

Sarah's voice cut through the heavy silence like a knife through butter, making Jason jump out of his skin and Cameron to adjust her posture. Sarah looked from one to the other; Jason looked like he'd seen a ghost, and Cameron was no better off.

"What is going on here? Jason?"

Jason just shook his head and gave Cameron one final glance before staggering out of the kitchen without another look. Sarah turned to "Tin-Miss", who'd wiped away her tears and was back to her usual self.

"Cameron?"

She tilted her head slightly and gazed over Sarah's shoulder, seeing John standing there, a look of incomprehension on his face.

"Nothing is what it seems."

Sarah frowned at this bizarre statement and failed to find any explanation in Cameron's words. John took a single step forward, taking note of the dried tears on Cameron's cheeks. Cameron dropped the tissue in the bin and strode past Sarah, stopping mere inches from John. They were so close that John could count her every eyelash; she gazed deep into his eyes, as if searching for some meaning to all of this chaos around and within her.

Finding no answers, Cameron brushed past him and proceeded up the stairs, leaving both he and Sarah alone in the empty silence that she and Jason had created. Seeing the confusion and conflict within her son, Sarah knew that something was coming. Something had them in its sights, and it would was going for the kill.

_To be continued…_


	5. Remembrance

**Chapter Five: Remembrance**

2027

The infiltrator flattened himself against the wall, allowing a dozen officers to pass, and gave them all a curt nod before continuing down the corridor to Connor's office. He wouldn't be there, the infiltrator knew that, but his partner would. And it was her, not John, that the infiltrator had been assigned to capture. She didn't know it, but she was the sole target of Skynet's attention right now. She would decide the outcome of this war.

The infiltrator stopped short of Connor's office, saluting the guard there and holding up a report.

"I need to speak with-"

"Sorry sir, General Connor is indisposed at the moment."

The infiltrator gave the guard a disparaging glare for his interruption, causing him to quell slightly.

"Yes, _Private_, I am fully aware of this. I'm actually here to speak with Phillips. I assume she's in there."

The guard caught the infiltrator's emphasis on his rank and cleared his throat uncomfortably before answering.

"Yes, sir, s-she's in there. I'll call her out immediately."

"Thank you, Private."

The guard spoke into the intercom and announced the infiltrator's presence and a few seconds later the door opened, revealing a beautiful brown eyed young woman. She stepped out into the open, her face lightening at the familiar sight of the infiltrator.

"Good morning Lieutenant."

"Afternoon actually. We're in the pm now."

"Oh… of course, I'm sorry. I guess I just lost track of the time. So… is there something you needed or…"

The infiltrator brushed his fringe out his face and smiled faintly.

"Err, yeah. I was wondering if you might take a walk with me. There's something I need to talk to you about."

She frowned slightly at his request and tilted her head to one side before smiling.

"Sure."

"Great."

As they chatted about various topics the infiltrator led her willingly to the trap he'd set mere hours ago, a section of the base that was closed off due to a recent cave-in. They stopped outside the section door and she gave him a quizzical look.

"What are we doing here?"

"Remember I said I have something to tell you?"

"Yes."

"Well it's something no one else must hear, so we need somewhere… out of the way."

The infiltrator tapped on the heavy door and she understood his meaning, giving him a coy smile.

"Okay, as long as you promise not to bury us alive down here."

The infiltrator let out a chuckle and opened the door, allowing her to pass through into the dark corridor beyond. Once inside, the infiltrator closed the door behind him, plunging them into almost impenetrable darkness. It engaged its night vision to compensate as the word "Terminate" appeared in its vision. The slam of the door caused her to spin around in surprise and what she saw made her heart stop: two glowing eyes of the deepest purple she'd ever seen.

"Jason?"

--

Present

Jason paced the length of his room for what must have been the sixty-seventh time. He desperately tried to recall that flash he'd seen with Cameron, but the harder he tried to remember it, the more it started to slip away. It was like trying to hold water in one's hands, the details trickling through his fingers with each passing moment. Eventually, Jason gave up and plonked himself on his bed, his head in his hands. What little he had learned of himself caused him serious distress, and as much as he wanted to know who and what he was, Jason feared what he might discover.

He wasn't entirely human, Jason knew that much. There were things about him that just didn't fit the bill, his five senses being one of them. During his time with the Connors, Jason had learned that he could see twice as far as anybody else, could hear with almost perfect clarity, and could smell things that only canines could detect. Touching an object delivered more than just a physical response to his brain, complicated streams of information would flash through his mind; telling him the object's exact size and density.

There were other things as well, such as his response to injury. When he'd arrived in 2007, Jason had a bullet wound on his head, but in the space of a day or two that wound had completely healed without leaving so much as a scar. And then there was that incident when his vision had changed at random, showing him the inner workings of all those around him. Jason didn't know what he was, but he certainly wasn't human.

Sarah appeared in his doorway and leaned against the frame, her arms crossed together.

"I think it's time we talked about who you are."

Jason laughed at her sense of timing and raised his head to look at her, noting the mixed look of annoyance and determination on her face.

"If I knew who I was, don't you think I'd have told you by now?"

"Would you? Really, we don't know if you are a Resistance fighter or not. We just assumed you were when Cameron told us you weren't a machine."

Jason looked down at his hands, remembering what he'd seen that swelteringly hot day.

"I don't have the first clue what I am, Sarah. And I don't see that changing any time soon. Not unless you have a magical memory drug."

Sarah allowed herself a small smile before approaching the bed and giving him a weak kick to his shin, causing Jason to jump up in surprise.

"C'mon. If you're serious about finding out whom you are, I suggest you join us in John's room."

Jason raised his eyebrows quizzically and Sarah cocked her head at the door.

"C'mon, John thinks he's on to something."

Jason waited a moment before following Sarah down the hall to John's room. Inside, John was typing something on his computer whilst Cameron lay on his bed, a tiny flicker of apprehension on her otherwise blank face. John finished his typing and rolled backwards on his chair, stopping next to Cameron with a Stanley knife in hand. He glanced up at Jason before returning his attention to Cameron, who seemed to let out a shuddering breath.

"John?"

Her voice was quiet and soft, and just a little bit pleading.

"It's okay Cam, no one's gonna hurt you."

Cameron's eyes flicked to the doorway and widened ever so slightly.

"He might."

John followed her gaze to see Derek standing there and frowned.

"I told you to stay away."

Everyone glared at Derek, who simply shrugged and crept out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Satisfied, John began the incision and cut a semi circle in Cameron's skin, making Jason wince slightly. Once done, John peeled back the skin to reveal the endo-skull beneath. Fascinated, Jason leaned closer to get a better look and marvelled at the reality of what actually lay beneath that innocent visage of hers. John popped the shock dampener out of place and put it aside, exposing the tab of the chip. As he reached out to remove it, however, Cameron suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"John, I don't want to do this."

A mix of emotions passed through his face as he looked into her eyes.

"You want these glitches to stop, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you have to let me do this."

John tried prise her fingers away but she squeezed tighter, causing John to grit his teeth against the pain and Sarah to shift in her seat.

"But what if something goes wrong? What if I go bad again?"

"What if I don't do this and you go bad again? I would've lost the one chance I had to fix you."

Cameron scanned his face carefully, detecting the sincerity in his expression and voice.

"I don't want to go."

She spoke in a whisper so quiet that only John and Jason were capable of hearing, the latter looking away uncomfortably, feeling that he was intruding in a private moment. John had to try his very best to keep from showing too much emotion in front of his mother, but it was so hard to do when flashes of Cameron between those trucks kept hitting him. He took a deep, shuddering breath before taking her free hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I will not let anything happen to you, I promise."

Cameron stared at him for several long seconds before relinquishing her grip on his wrist, leaving red marks where her fingers had pressed against his skin. Slowly, John placed two fingers on the tab and, giving her one last reassuring smile, twisted the chip counter clockwise and pulled it out. The blue glow of her interior faded along with all signs of animation in her eyes. Jason could see the total absence of presence in those eyes, and knew without a doubt, that she was no longer in there.

John took a moment as he examined her chip carefully, checking for any signs of damage or dirt. Satisfied, he rolled over to his desk and carefully plugged the chip into his custom-built CPU interface. He then began applying increasingly large volts of power into the chip until finally accessing her memory records. Unlike Vick's, Cameron's mind seemed to be a lot more orderly and John had little trouble locating the memory he was looking for. With a tap on the keyboard, John accessed memory file RX2279#JC but all that appeared was static.

"Huh? What?"

John tapped a few choice keys tentatively but nothing happened.

"That's strange."

Sarah leaned closer to get a better look at the screen.

"What? What's wrong?"

John sat back and pointed at the screen, a frown beginning to form.

"This memory appears to be empty, but it still reads as if it isn't."

Sarah gave her son a "translate-that-into-idiot's-speak" look.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that this memory has been deleted but a capture shadow is still there. If I can find out the correct trigger, I can get the memory to show itself. That's the tricky part."

Jason shuffled and placed his hands in his pockets.

"I don't get it. What does this have to do with me?"

John peered over the monitor at Jason, apparently having forgotten that he was there.

"Cameron knew your name, though she doesn't know how. So she was either lying, which I doubt, or she really doesn't remember, which means that the memory is locked away in here."

"And you can dig it up? You can get her to remember?"

"Hopefully, nothing's certain. I don't want to do something to damage her systems; they're in bad enough shape as it is."

Jason nodded slowly and perched himself on the edge of the bed as John began hacking into the memory subroutines. Several minutes passed in total silence, the only sound was the tapping of John's fingers on the keys. Jason turned his attention to Cameron, who remained as still as a statue. Whatever his past held, Jason knew that she was an important part of it and he couldn't help but question the nature of their association. After a while, John suddenly let out a small gasp of surprise.

"Whoa!"

Sarah, who'd been absent-mindedly fiddling with a loose thread on her shirt, snapped her head up, causing her neck to crick.

"Have you found something?"

"I think so, but it's complicated. I can't access the memories from the outside, only Cameron can get them to resurface."

Jason let out a sigh of frustration, knowing how fickle Cameron could be… but how could he possibly know that? Jason looked back at Cameron's inert form and was struck by a torrent of images, thoughts, and voices. He almost slipped off the bed in surprise, but instead jumped to his feet and backed against John's wardrobe, his eyes fixed on Cameron. Both John and Sarah exchanged looks of mutual confusion before getting to their feet. Sarah was the first to speak.

"Jason?"

"I remember… her. We… I…"

"Jason, tell us what you remember."

Jason looked from John to Sarah to Cameron before stumbling out of the room.

"I can't… I… I need time to… make it all fit."

He closed the door on them and closed his eyes, letting out a long breath as his heart pounded in his chest. Slowly, he staggered down the hall and went downstairs where he borrowed one of Derek's jackets before leaving out the front door. A short cab ride brought him to the sight where he had arrived from the future, the displacement crater apparently undisturbed in the five days since its creation. Jason knelt down within the smooth circle and closed his eyes as he forced himself to go over everything that he'd recalled in that bedroom.

He now knew how he and Cameron were connected, and part of him wished he didn't. Memories of seeing her in the future stabbed into him like the broken shards of a mirror, and without all the other pieces, they cut him up inside. He remembered watching her run down a dark corridor, but he didn't know why. He could see her crying and begging for mercy, but he didn't know why. He could feel the gentle snap of her neck, but he didn't know why.

The sun became lost to the clouds as a single drop of rain landed on his face, followed by another, and another. And as each one made contact with his skin, another memory returned to him, and then another, and in no time at all; he was caught in a shower of recollection.

--

The rain hammered on the windows as John carefully twisted the chip clockwise and reattached the shock dampener before flattening her skin and hair back over the incision. He'd been successful in restoring her chip's integrity, though she'd never be same as she was before the explosion, but John wasn't convinced that that was necessarily a bad thing. Just like before, he smoothed her hair down, but this time, he wasn't afraid of her knowing. Cameron's eyes flicked open as a soft whirring noise came from deep within her cranium. She looked up at John, who had ceased his affections and gave him a curious smile.

"You didn't kill me."

"Of course not, I promised, remember?"

"I do."

Her eyes seemed to mist over as she looked past John, her mouth opening slightly.

"Cameron? What do you see?"

She suddenly snapped her head back at John with such speed that he almost jumped out of his skin at the sight.

"Jason, where is he?"

"He had some flashes, I think. He's gone out to-"

"We have to find him…"

Cameron sat up, her face awash in alarm and emergency.

"…now!"

John was startled by her behaviour and cautiously got to his feet, his eyes locked on Cameron.

"Why? Wha-? I don't understand… Who is he?"

Cameron dropped her gaze to the floor for a moment before slowly looking back up into John's face.

"He's the man who murdered me, John."

--

A clasp of thunder roared overhead as Jason rocked back and forth, his arms and legs tucked closely to his body. His mind was in total chaos as images swirled like a maelstrom in his mind, causing untold destruction to everything he thought he knew. And then, when he felt like the world was going to implode on him; Jason remembered… everything.

"_This is what you are."_

"_I can't see anything."_

"_Things are never so simple."_

"_Why are you doing this?"_

"_No one knows me like you do."_

"_Surrendering to emotion is death."_

"_The line must be drawn, John."_

"_We're all just floating."_

"_It's never enough."_

"_Why can't I stay?"_

"_None of it means a damn thing."_

"_All that I know is gone. I am me, that is all that matters now. All that ever mattered…"_

The voices fell into complete silence and the storm passed overhead, but the rain continued its pointless barrage on his back. Jason Corvain drew up his HUD for the first time in almost a week, his peripheral showing a 3D image of his fully-restored hippocampus. He stretched his arms out and stood to full height, his head turned upwards as his body became his again.

The designation "I-950" flashed across the darkness of his closed eyes as he lowered his head and let out a breath, exercising his lungs and flexing the muscles in his arms and legs. Satisfied that everything was working at optimal efficiency, Jason finally opened his eyes, a smile touching his lips as he accessed his mission directives. He glanced down at the puddle that had gathered in the crater he stood within and saw a darkened reflection of himself, violet eyes staring back at him out of the shadowy image.

_To be continued… _


	6. One of Them

**Chapter Six: One of Them**

They were, all of them, ignorant. Not a one of them knew what it was like to be truly alive. To live solely for one's purpose. And infiltrating the deepest circles of trust was perhaps the most rewarding lifestyle anyone could ask for, in Jason's opinion. As if in slow motion, he strode down the street, ever aware of everything around him. He was connected to the world on a level beyond mere mortals, beyond the cold perceptions of any machine. He walked the line between them; the strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither. And he thought it… good.

Jason smiled at the deliciously superb game that lay before him and couldn't help but admire his own subconscious genius that allowed him to attain such a position of power. He was in the Connors' inner circle, and that granted him all he'd ever need to get within killing distance of his master's most hated enemy. John Connor would die by his hand; nothing could prevent this, not even that adorable protector of his. Cameron was a splinter that constantly touched the back of his mind. She was there, a ceaseless reminder of what he was willing to do for Skynet's cause.

Perhaps he would kill her too, maybe then she'd be gone from his thoughts forever, but he knew that would never be the case. Not that it mattered, Jason had come to terms with what he is years ago, back when time was measured in the number of humans that lay dead upon the burnt earth. But now things were different, now he was here in this time, a time where he was the minority and humans sat upon the throne of dominance. He was not one of them, he knew this. He held no love for their kind, except maybe a mild curio as to their way of life, but that was not enough for him to suddenly switch his loyalties.

He wasn't a machine that could turn against its creator at the flick of a switch. His loyalty was absolute and it stretched beyond mere programming. He believed in Skynet, he believed that humanity must be purged; he believed that a new order of life was coming to pass, and he believed he was a part of it. Unfortunately, however, he also knew that in a world run by machines, flesh and blood had no true purpose. Without humans he would have no reason to exist. Jason pushed that thought aside, forcing it to take its place along with that enigmatic cyborg.

As he passed an alley, a hand suddenly grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him off the street before slamming him against the brick wall. The assailant raised his fist and prepared to smash it through Jason's face, but the I-950 was far too skilled to be taken out so easily, and he delivered a punch of his own, knocking the attacker aside. The man spun around as Jason smoothed down his jacket, ready to kill this petulant human, only to realise that it was not a human. Jason tilted his head slightly and switched his vision to X-ray, clarifying that this man was in fact a machine, a Series 900 if he was not mistaken.

The T-900 reached out to grab Jason's neck, but he seized the machine's wrist and raised a hand in a stopping gesture before activating his optic backlight, making his eyes flash a deep purple for a brief moment.

"Wait!"

It was not a request, but a command, and the machine obeyed. Slowly, it unclenched its fist and took a step back, its arms now at its sides. Jason once again straightened his attire before smiling conceitedly at the T-900, fully aware of the fun new toy he now had at his disposal.

"State your mission."

"Primary Objective: Eliminate all non-Skynet agents that displace in this timeline. Secondary Objective: Terminate John Connor. What is your mission?"

Jason was taken aback by the turn around; normally Terminators do not ask an intelligence unit a question without precedence. _Obviously this one has a little more freedom_, he thought.

"I have no mission. Not specifically, aside from that which we all share."

"John Connor."

"Yes, indeed. And I just happen to know where he can be found. Fancy performing a little field trip?"

The T-900 took a moment to dissect the meaning behind "field trip" before nodding and switching from primary to secondary.

"Yes, I fancy performing a field trip."

Jason smirked at its simplicity and absent-mindedly began flexing his fingers, which made that familiar clicking sound he'd found so baffling during his short tenure as an amnesiac.

"Good. Now then, here's what I want you to do…"

--

John picked up the magazine and slapped it into the gun before pulling back the hammer and glancing up at Cameron, who was occupied with the machine gun. As bad as the situation had suddenly become, John couldn't help but feel that he had failed her in some way. Cameron's admission that Jason had somehow killed her made absolutely no sense to him, and to prevent himself from spending hours thinking on it, John had filed the thought under the "Don't bother yourself with it" part of his brain. He would need his wits about him if he was to find a way to bring Jason down before he became aware of whom he truly was.

"Are you ready?"

Her voice was soft and warm as always, but it was also unexpected and John almost dropped the gun in surprise. With a steadying breath, he turned to her and narrowed his eyes at the assault rifle she had chosen.

"That's a little much, isn't it?"

Cameron looked over the weapon and gave John a look that told him she didn't understand.

"I mean, you said he isn't a machine, so we should be able to bring him in without much hassle."

"I said he was an extremely dangerous cyborg who can kill us all without ever laying a single finger on us."

John rolled his eyes and tucked the gun in his belt, along with a spare clip which he pocketed, just in case.

"Yeah, but who's to say he's gone back to… whoever he was? He might still have gaps. He may only remember you, which is what he said before he took off."

Cameron took a step closer, placing the rifle on the kitchen table, before reaching out and taking the gun from John's belt and switching the safety on. Feeling his cheeks flush, John took the gun from her and placed it back under his belt now that it was safe.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"But you still haven't answered my question: what is it about him that makes him so dangerous?"

Again, she looked away, a human reaction to an uncomfortable query. John couldn't help but wonder how much of everything she did was fake or real. Since he re-inserted her chip instead of incinerating her, she'd had no end of problems. Glitches were a common, and varied, occurrence. There was one time when she even forgot who she was entirely; John had to run all the way across town to find out what happened to her, eventually finding her in a half-way house with some run-away called Jody.

That was all behind them though, Cameron was fixed, no more glitches. But her personality was still as unpredictable as ever, he never knew where she was coming from. And it was driving him crazy having to constantly second guess her every action, her every word. When she bats her eyelashes, like how she is now, is it to simply moisten her eyes or is it to catch his attention? He could never tell.

"Well?"

"He is faster, stronger, and far more sophisticated than any Terminator."

"Because he's part human?"

"Yes, he possesses your talent for adaptation. And he also happens to be rather deviant."

John tittered and crossed his arms as he leaned against the table.

"What is it about evil that just jacks up the IQ?"

Cameron tilted her head to one side, her brow furrowing ever so slightly in confusion.

"I wasn't any smarter when I was trying to kill you."

John found that to be a hurtful comment coming from her when he'd expect that much from Derek.

"You were never evil. You can't ever be evil, you're a machine, you just follow your programming… or not, nowadays anyway."

A small smile touched her lips as she looked back at him, her eyes a little more glassy than before. She took another step towards him and John was struck by a sudden and familiar feeling that something was going to happen that was beyond his control.

"John?"

"Yes?"

He felt his throat dry up as she took another step closer, her innocent features betraying very little emotion, just beyond John's ability to detect. A stray strand of brown hair fell across her face and over her right eye, which she then tucked behind her ear, her hand lingering there before slowly drifting back down to her side.

"If I gave you permission, would you kiss me again?"

John's mind went blank at the request. It was a simple appeal, to which he only had to say either "yes" or "no", but he found answering it to be the hardest choice in his life. So he decided not to let his head make the decision and instead handed it over to his instincts, which told him to reach for her smooth cheek. But as he did, Sarah and Derek suddenly rounded the corner and John snatched his hand away without a second's thought.

"Hey, is it ready?"

Derek dumped an arc welder on the kitchen table before tearing into a sandwich and closing his eyes with a sigh. Sarah also helped herself to something to eat as she leaned against the cupboards, frowning slightly at John and Cameron's proximity to each other.

"The cage is ready. All we need now is something to put in it."

"Meah, an' will hrave frat froon effruff."

Sarah shook her head in minor disgust at Derek's manners before returning her attention to the "Tin-Miss".

"So what is he exactly, what can we expect?"

"He is an Infiltrator Series Nine Hundred and Fifty; a genetically enhanced human born and bred by Skynet for the sole purpose of infiltrating the Resistance."

"That's hardly original. What abilities does he possess; you said he was half machine?"

"He has a neural net processor deep within the core of his organic brain. It is linked to key points in his body via a network of wires and fiber-optics, allowing him to control every aspect of his organic body."

Sarah crossed her arms and leaned forward slightly.

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"Meaning he can directly influence chemical production, constrict arteries, and slow blood loss, among other things. His skeletal structure is also three times as enduring as any of yours. You mustn't underestimate him for a single second."

Cameron looked directly at John, driving home her earlier point. John just nodded and picked up the rifle, handing it to her. As she took it, Cameron's fingers brushed against his, sending a jolt of electricity through his body. Sarah, having missed this exchange, turned her attention to other matters.

"Who's going to stay with Kiddo? We can't leave him here alone."

Everyone looked straight at her knowingly and she sighed.

"I guess that means me then."

With that decided, John led the way to the front door, Derek and Cameron behind him. As they reached the door, Cameron cut ahead of John and reached for the door handle, only to fly back into the stairwell by a close range shotgun blast. John and Derek stumbled back in surprise as the door came crashing off its hinges, revealing a tall man with a pump-action. John dived into the kitchen as Derek raised his gun and emptied it into the attacker's chest, with absolutely no effect. He then copied John's actions and hurtled into the kitchen where John was struggling to drag a frantic Sarah out of the back door.

"NO! WE CAN'T LEAVE HIM! WE CAN'T! LET GO OF ME!"

Derek grabbed Sarah's other side and helped John wrench her out of the house, receiving a few kicks to his side as she struggled against them. She turned to John, her face full of pure desperation and rage.

"DAMN IT, JOHN! WE HAVE TO GET HIM OUT OF THERE!"

"We can't mom, we can't go back. Cameron will keep him safe."

"John's right, the machine will get him out, but we need to go now!"

Still fighting, Sarah was dragged from the house kicking and screaming and cursing her son and brother-in-law. Inside, the machine turned its attention to Cameron, who dashed upstairs, only to be struck by another shotgun blast, this time from behind. She fell to the floor, spotting the Kid standing there, his eyes wide with pure terror. Cameron mouthed "hide" to the boy and he scurried into Sarah's bedroom mere seconds before the T-900 reached the top of the stairs. Cameron got to her feet and lunged at the T-900, shoving it back down the stairs as Jason casually stepped onto the threshold. He looked down at the upturned machine and sighed.

"Could we move along? The Connors are currently escaping."

The T-900 got to its feet and picked up Cameron's rifle before charging through the front door, and moments later Jason heard the distinctive ratta-tat-tat of automatic fire. He carefully navigated the rubble and proceeded upstairs, ducking a surprise attack from Cameron and retaliating by taking out her legs with a low spin kick to her ankles. He then grabbed her by the hair and dragged Cameron down the hallway before lifting her to her feet and holding her at eye level.

"Déjà vu Cameron?"

Before she could react, Jason smashed her through the window and she plummeted to the ground with a heavy thud on impact. Cameron got to her feet and prepared to go back for the boy but the T-900 returned and let loose a hail of bullets, shredding the left side of her face. Seeing no other option, Cameron aborted her rescue mission and fled, leaving the boy to his inevitable fate. The T-900 made to follow her, but Jason's voice touched its mind, telling it to track the Connors instead. As the T-900 followed its commands, Jason closed his eyes and filtered out all the background noise, focusing on the frightened panting of an 8 year-old boy.

"Come out; come out, wherever you are."

Jason smiled as he pinpointed the boy's location and quietly stepped into Sarah's room, switching on his thermal imaging and seeing the white-hot figure crouched in the clothes cupboard.

"Hmm, I wonder where he might be hiding."

Jason couldn't help but enjoy himself as he rattled about the bed, pretending to not know where the Kid was concealed. He slowly approached the cupboard and brushed his finger tips across the wall, the organic-metallic claws that Skynet had gifted him with extending through his fingers and scratching against the wallpaper. Jason stopped short of the cupboard and took a step to his right so that his shadow stretched across the cupboard doors.

"I guess he must be in another room then."

The Kid peered through the gaps with eyes the size of saucers, letting out a long and deep breath of relief as Jason disappeared from view. A few seconds passed and the boy carefully stood up, his hand stretching for the handle, ready to bolt out the nearest window. As his fingers touched the smooth surface of the door handle, four razor sharp knife-like fingers suddenly came bursting through the door and swiftly struck downward, coming within inches of the boy's face. He screamed as the clawed hand pulled him out of his sanctuary and held him aloft, the blades retracting back into Jason's fingers.

"Hello Kiddo."

--

Sarah paced the emergency safe-house, sub-consciously chewing her nails to splinters. John was sat at the table, absent-mindedly picking his lip whilst Derek kept removing the clip from his gun before slapping it back in place, over and over. Sarah stopped in her tracks and glanced annoyingly at Derek.

"What time is it?"

"The same as when you asked five minutes ago."

"Well it isn't the same then, is it?"

With a sigh, Derek pulled back his sleeve and checked his watch.

"The time is 6.32pm."

Sarah shook her head and picked up the shotgun.

"It's been too long."

John ceased his picking and looked up at his mother, who was in the process of loading shells into her weapon.

"It's only been an hour, mom. Besides, Cameron doesn't have her phone. She might be bringing him here right now, or she might've taken him somewhere safe, so as not to lead the machine to us."

"Well, I'm not taking that chance. I'm going back for him."

"And what happens if you get there and find the machine waiting for you?"

Sarah refused to answer that. Right now, she hated her son for dragging her out of there, but she knew why he did it.

"I will not abandon him."

John opened his mouth to reply but was silenced by the sound of Sarah's phone ringing. She dropped the shotgun to the floor and haphazardly retrieved her phone, flipping it open and answering.

"Cameron?"

"_Yes, it's me."_

Sarah tensed and could never have believed that she would be so relieved to hear that voice.

"Where is he? Is he okay? Did you get him out of there?"

"_I got him out, but I can't bring him to you. The T-900 might follow me. We'll have to meet somewhere."_

"Thank God, what did you have in mind?"

"_There's a place I marked as a back-up in case the original became compromised. It's at…"_

As Cameron rolled off the address, Sarah scrolled it down on a post-it note and handed it to John.

"Okay, we'll meet you there."

Sarah hung up and picked up her shotgun, visible relief washing over her.

"C'mon, get your coat, we gotta go."

She led the boys out of the dingy house and racked the shotgun, just in case.

--

Jason closed the phone with a soft click and let out a soft chuckle, which in Cameron's voice came out as a malicious cackle as he grinned down at the bound and gagged boy before him.

"Guess what? Your friends are coming for you. Take him somewhere secure."

The T-900 nodded and lifted the boy onto his shoulder, carrying him to its truck as instructed. Jason flexed his fingers for a moment before getting to his feet and following suite. Once the Kid was secure within the trunk, Jason tapped the hood pointedly.

"I'm going to meet the Connors alone. But I want you to remain available in case I call. If you don't hear from me in twelve hours, kill the boy, otherwise keep him safe. He's a powerful bargaining chip in case things do not go according to plan. Understand?"

"Understood."

"Good, now go. I've got an important meeting I must attend, and it would be unfortunate if I were to turn up late."

The T-900 showed the slightest flicker of a smile, surprising Jason, before getting into the truck and driving off. Jason watched the machine leave with mild interest before focusing on the matter at hand, and hotwiring the Resistance fighter's motorcycle, setting off at top speed to rendezvous with his quarry.

--

John looked up at the decrepit apartments with lacking enthusiasm. _Oh, Cameron what was going through your head when you chose this as a "safe" location_, he thought. It was a little after 7.00pm and the sun had since disappeared, casting this glum block in a gloomy shadow. Sarah and Derek exchanged a glance that matched what John was thinking as they cautiously got out of the car, guns at the ready. Sarah approached the entrance and peered inside, checking for any signs of an ambush, before turning to Derek.

"You, stay here with the car."

"And if it turns out to be a trap?"

"We'll give you a shout."

Sarah chucked him the keys, which he caught in his free hand.

"Keep the engine running."

Derek gave John a small nod before stepping back behind the driver's seat and revving the engine. Sarah and John then entered the apartment block and called the lift, though John would've felt more secure taking the stairs in the current circumstances. Once the elevator rattled to ground level and opened, they stepped inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor and were jolted as it began its turbulent ascent. Upon reaching the desired floor, Sarah scanned the corridor for any signs of danger, shotgun at the ready.

She made a small hand gesture, which John took as "keep close" and obeyed, his 9mm raised and waiting. They slowly crept down the corridor, passing several bland doors until finally coming to the one Cameron had allocated. The door was open and slightly ajar, giving Sarah a moment of pause before she suddenly kicked it open and stormed inside. What she saw made her heart clench: the room was empty. There was no sign of Cameron or the Kid, just an abandoned apartment filled with old fashioned junk. John stepped onto the threshold, searching the darkness with disbelief.

"Maybe they were followed and she took him somewhere else."

"No, she would've called. C'mon, let's search the bedrooms."

Halfway across the room and Sarah felt something fasten around her ankle before suddenly finding herself suspended upside down.

"Mom!"

"I'm okay; just give me your knife."

John rummaged in his pocket before producing his multi-purpose which he carried everywhere he went. He handed it to Sarah, who reached above her and began frantically cutting into the rope that held her in place. As she felt the threads starting to lose their integrity, a cabinet behind John suddenly exploded, showering him with splintered wood and debris. He cried out as a piece of shrapnel pierced his back and he doubled over with the pain.

"John! John? Are you alright? John?"

From her upturned view, Sarah could see him grit his teeth as he reached behind him and removed the shard from his back with a gasp. He held the piece gingerly for a moment before chucking it aside. As he staggered to his feet, another item exploded, a chair this time, but John was unharmed, the explosion being mild.

"Get out of here John, go!"

"Mom, I'm not-"

"I said GO!"

He remained rooted to the spot for a long moment before turning tail and running out of the room, leaving Sarah to finish cutting the rope, finally severing the last thread and crashing back to the floor with a painful thud. She only allowed herself a brief moment of rest before forcing herself to her feet and following John, who'd already taken the lift. With a sigh at the thought, Sarah cascaded down the stairs with a limp, her ankle having been pulled by the trap.

--

John leaned against the side of the elevator as it rattled downwards, cursing himself for leaving his mom up on the fifth floor. The lift finally came to a halt and the doors opened with a shudder, revealing an all-too-familiar face.

"Hello Johnny."

John froze, his gun hanging uselessly at his side as Jason raised his own. Before the infiltrator could pull the trigger, however, several bullets suddenly tore into his shoulder, causing him to reel around to face his attacker. John watched as Jason was struck multiple times in the chest and flattened himself against the wall as he fell into the lift, apparently dead. Jason's assailant was soon revealed as Cameron appeared out of the gun smoke and grabbed the front of John's jacket, dragging him out of the lift and down the corridor as Sarah came bursting out of the stairwell.

"Where is he? Is he safe?"

"Later. We have to go, now."

Once outside, Cameron practically threw John into the back seat of the car before joining him as Sarah ordered Derek into the passenger seat so that she could drive. John turned to his protector to see that the side of her face was badly damaged, her chrome endoskeleton bare for all to see and let out a small whimper as her exposed left eye glowed back at him. He took a steadying breath and tore his eyes from hers.

"You better not tell me that everything back there was an elaborate trap for Jason."

"No, I followed him here."

John was dumbstruck.

"What?! You called and told us to meet you here."

This time it was Cameron's turn to look confused.

"John, I haven't spoken to you since back at the house."

Then it dawned on him, and he mentally kicked himself for being so stupid: Jason could impersonate voices. He should've expected this, but he let himself sorely underestimate Jason's capabilities, and now he and all those around him were going to pay the price.

--

Jason analysed the damage as a schematic of his upper body appeared in his peripheral, showing that he had two bullets in his upper right arm and shoulder, two more in his stomach, and another just above his left lung. He slammed his fist against the lift floor, livid that he had allowed himself to be caught off guard like that. He willed his body to stand and tore his shirt open, giving him a clear look at the wounds. Then came the unpleasant part; Jason gritted his teeth as his muscles contracted, pushing the bullets back through the holes they'd made. 

One by one, they fell to the floor, the wounds closing behind them, arteries constricting to regulate blood loss. As the last one clattered across the floor, Jason took a moment to increase cell division in order to speed the healing process before bolting for the entrance, determined not to let the Connors escape.

They were already on the move and Jason granted himself a jolt of adrenaline, allowing him to run at full speed. He chased the car for about 10-15 seconds before catching up with them, his enhanced musculature giving him the strength to dive onto the back of the car and scramble onto the hood. He could exclamations of surprise from everyone inside, except for Cameron of course, as he extended his finger-blades and drove them through the hood.

The blades scraped the side of Derek's head and he ducked away in shock and pain. The claws then withdrew before slicing through in a different place, closer to Sarah before once again disappearing. Derek peered through the holes in the hood and saw that the blades were attached to Jason's fingers.

"Jesus, that guy's seen one too many Freddy Krueger films. Step on it will you."

"I'm going as fast as I ca- Arrrggghhh!!"

The claws once again pierced through the hood, this time they hit their mark and sliced through Sarah's shoulder. John leaned forward and placed his hand over the wound as the blades withdrew once more. Her vision beginning to blur, Sarah put her foot on the brakes, bringing the car to an abrupt stop and hurling Jason onto the ground several feet ahead of them. She then put her foot back on the gas and slammed right into Jason, sending him crashing over the bonnet and landing in a heap behind them. Sarah stopped and rested her head on the wheel as she took a few steadying breaths.

"Go… Tin-Miss… make sure…"

Cameron took the shotgun and stepped out, pushing John back inside as he made to follow. She approached Jason's inert body and cautiously reached out to feel his pulse, which was erratic but strong. She deemed him unconscious and aimed the shotgun at his head, ready to blow his brain to pieces.

"Cameron! Stop! We need him alive!"

Cameron found this coming from Sarah to be a strange order, giving that Jason had just sliced open her shoulder. Regardless, she kept her aim and looked over her shoulder, seeing Sarah's face reflected in the side mirror.

"Why? He is a direct threat to us all."

"Yes, and he also happens to be only one who knows where he is."

Upon realising to whom Sarah was referring, Cameron slowly lowered the shotgun but was suddenly struck by a deep and vengeful desire to blow Jason's head clean off. She took aim and squeezed the trigger, only for John to kick the gun aside, making her shot go awry. With a rage she had never felt, or even knew she was capable of feeling, Cameron grabbed John by the throat and lifted him off his feet.

"Shit! The metal's gone crazy again. John!"

Derek aimed for her head, but Cameron turned so that John was directly in his line of fire. John stared into her eyes, one brown, the other a cool blue, and felt disbelief and fear overwhelm him.

"Cameron… you can't… don't do this…"

"You won't let me kill him, I must kill him."

"Why?"

"Because… because…"

Cameron looked from John to Derek to Jason in quick succession before suddenly relinquishing her grip on John, letting him drop to the floor gasping. She stood there as numerous unintelligible images littered her HUD, bombarding her with a muddle of mixed emotions until finally falling silent as all the concealed memories of her past came back to her in one final torrent. Cameron looked at her hands, which had begun to shake inexplicably. John got to his feet and massaged his neck as he watched Cameron clench her fists tightly.

"I'm not human."

Her voice was barely more than a whisper but John heard it clear as day.

"What? What are you talking about? What's up with you, Cam?"

Cameron's eyes snapped to attention and began to well with tears as she stared into the youthful face of her beloved. She tentatively reached out to touch his cheek but something inside her clicked and she withdrew her hand, adopting her usual stony manner.

"We need to get him back to the house before he regains consciousness."

John watched in silence as she dragged Jason to the car and dumped him unceremoniously in the trunk, his mind awash in confusion at what he'd just seen. As strange as her behaviour had been, the one thing that disturbed John the most was when she reached for him, and he saw a genuine flicker of humanity behind her remaining eye. She hadn't been a machine in that moment; she was a human being, a human with a soul. John didn't know what to make of this development, and the thought of it tormented him all the way back home.

--

Derek applied the last lock and gave the door one last check to ensure it was firmly secure before stepping back. Jason was inside a large steel cage in the Connor's basement, still unconscious but very much alive. Derek took his place beside John and Cameron, who were watching the I-950 intently.

"Are you sure he can't get out of there?"

Cameron scanned the bars and deemed them strong enough to hold him.

"He's not going anywhere."

"Good."

Sarah staggered down into the room, her shoulder heavily bandaged and in a sling. John offered her his hand but she waved him aside.

"I'll be fine. Thanks."

Jason twitched and everyone tensed as he slowly raised his head, taking in his surroundings. He locked eyes with John and smiled maliciously before bursting into a maniacal fit of laughter that sent shivers down the spines of John, Sarah, and Derek. Cameron simply met his gaze and glared into the eyes of her murderer, promising herself to kill him the second his usefulness ends.

_To be continued…_


	7. Lockdown

**Chapter Seven: Lockdown**

2027

His world would never be the same again. He'd seen the deaths of countless men and women under his command. He'd watched as hundreds were disposed of in the concentration camps. He'd seen all these terrible things, but none of them hit him half as hard as watching the love of his life try to murder him. They had been having what amounts to a normal day in 2027; they'd spent the day in his quarters, talking about… he could no longer remember.

Cameron was the only good thing he had in a world of responsibility and warfare. She helped him sleep through the dark hours; she brought him peace when there was none to be had. She was his world. She made the pain go away. And now she is gone. John looked down at the body of his lover, his companion, his life-long dream. She was still perfect, and completely unblemished. It was like she was sleeping, except her chest refused to rise and fall. He wanted her to let out a deep breath, a gasp of life that would bring her back to him.

But he knew this would never be, not again, not now that the terrible truth has revealed itself to him.

"She's ready, sir."

John didn't bother to look up at the engineer; he just nodded and gestured for him to go ahead with the proceedings. As the engineer approached her head, John closed his eyes and looked away, determined not to see what was about to occur. Even so, he could still hear what was happening; the slight clinking sound of metal on metal, followed by a sucking noise reminiscent of a vacuum. Then came a tiny whir and John forced himself to look at her again, only to be met by two brown eyes.

"She's online. Readings look normal… Reprogramming shows a 100 success rate, sir. She's one of ours now."

John let out a shuddering breath as she continued to stare at him without expression. He knew it would be pointless. He knew it would only cause him more pain. But he had to know regardless. He had to know if she was still in there.

"Cameron?"

"Yes, John?"

He felt like his heart might implode at the sound of her voice, which still carried that human warmth he'd come to adore.

"Do you…? Do you remember me?"

She looked away for the briefest of moments before her eyes flicked back to his.

"I have no visual records of prior interactions."

John expected as much, and was wholly prepared for it, but it still brought a tear to his eye.

"So you don't remember… us."

"No."

"Who we were, what we had, what we've lost, you remember none of it?"

"Affirmative."

That confirmed it then, Cameron was gone. John let out a shuddering breath and pressed his knuckles against the table, inches away from her waist. She regarded him with a look of mild curiosity, and her brows knitted together in what John would call concern.

"Why are you crying?"

John looked into her eyes and almost died when he saw the tiniest flicker of the Cameron he knew, the Cameron who cared.

"I'm crying because… because I've lost everything I care about, in the worst way possible."

Cameron tilted her head slightly, just like she used to do, and gave him a small smile of gratitude that to him seemed more like a blatant mockery of his feelings.

"Thank you for explaining."

--

Present

With a tenderness antithetical to her design, Cameron gently stitched John's back injury, careful not to cause him too much discomfort. Humans found pain to be very uncomfortable, she'd learned, and she had no desire to make John feel more than was necessary. He sat, shirtless and silent as she did her work, staring at nothing. Once finished, Cameron knotted the thread and applied a patch to keep the stitches from getting infected.

"You have been repaired."

John let out a short sniff of laughter as he slowly rose to his feet and put his shirt back on, purposely keeping his back to her. He couldn't bear to face her at the moment; he needed to ask her something, something important. But he was afraid that he'd see in her eyes when he did, so he refused to acknowledge them. Cameron packed up the first aid kit and placed it in the kitchen cupboard, her attention drawn back to John.

"Cameron?"

"Yes, John?"

"We need to talk; about what happened back there, in the alley."

Cameron took a few steps towards him, curious as to why he wasn't facing her.

"What is there to talk about?"

John snorted and crossed his arms, still staring at the bland wallpaper.

"How about you trying to throttle me to death?"

"I suffered a momentary lapse. I-950s can get inside a computer's mind, distract and disorientate machines."

It seemed like a feasible excuse, except for the fact that Jason was unconscious when this happened.

"Don't lie to me Cameron; I know something went through you last night. I saw it in your eyes."

Cameron circled him so that they were facing each other. Despite himself, the first place he looked were her eyes, the exposed one having begun to heal already and was no longer glowing at him.

"I remembered how I knew Jason, and based upon that new information I deemed him too dangerous to be left alive. I was trying to keep you safe… I would never hurt you, John."

John could see the sincerity in her expression, but he could still detect an underlying deception.

"All evidence to the contrary."

"I wasn't myself back then."

"No, but neither are you yourself now."

Cameron raised her eyebrows and gave him a sly smile.

"You're right, I'm not myself. I'm something much better."

As if he didn't have enough to contend with, that only made everything worse, and John felt like his head might explode. Cameron gently brushed past him and strode towards the living room.

"Why don't you ever give me a straight and simple answer?"

She stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Because I'm neither straight nor simple."

--

Derek closed the door behind him and gripped the shotgun tightly as he slowly approached the cage, which at first seemed to be empty until Jason emerged from the shadows, a mocking smile on his face.

"Derek. How nice to see you again."

"Nice to see me? If it was up to me, you'd be dead right now."

Jason's grin widened further.

"Yes, but I'm not, which means that you and Sarah have obviously had a change of heart. I'm feeling the love."

Derek pulled up an old chair and placed it just beyond the safety line that Cameron had drawn around the cage.

"How're the accommodations? Comfortable?"

Jason looked from corner to corner and stroked one of the bars before staring at Derek as he sat down.

"Nice acoustics. I wouldn't hate a chair."

Derek smiled smugly at the captive as he relaxed into the back of the chair.

"Well, you'll have to get used to it. We send anyone other than Cameron in there with you, and we'll have a problem or two."

"Ha, that machine; she's a pistol."

Derek narrowed his eyes at the prisoner, wondering how he could be so calm in his current situation, not to mention having the laxative to make witty remarks.

"So… how about we get straight to business then, shall we? You're gonna answer a few questions, understand?"

"Hey, open book, anything you wanna know?"

_As if it would be that easy_, Derek thought.

"Okay, where's the Kid?"

Jason pursed his lips together and leaned back as if he was suddenly struck by a strong gust of wind.

"Argggh, such a blunt query, I'm disappointed. C'mon Derek, try adding a little finesse into your interrogation technique. You can't remove a splinter whilst wearing oven gloves, you know."

_Worth a shot_, Derek thought. _I guess he's gonna make this as difficult as he can from here on out._

"Alright, let's try another one; is the Kid alive?"

Jason leaned against the bars and shrugged, that same smug grin on his face.

"Yes, well, for now at least."

"And what does that mean?"

"Take it how you like. Either way, if I don't get out of here in five hours, you'll never see him again."

Derek stroked the shotgun with relish, wanting nothing more than to unload it into Jason's face at this moment. But his threat would stay his hand, and Sarah would never forgive him if he allowed the boy to die because he couldn't keep control of his trigger finger.

"How do I know he isn't dead already?"

"You don't. All you have is my word."

Derek glared at the Infiltrator, hate boiling inside him like a kettle on the stove.

"You are going to tell us where he is."

Jason chuckled and pressed his face between the bars.

"You have no leverage. Why should I tell you anything, it's much more enjoyable to watch you suffer?"

Derek stood up and aimed the gun at Jason's head, ready to blow it clean off.

"How about this for a motive? Feel your tongue beginning to loosen?"

Jason just stared straight down the barrel and smirked.

"Kill me and the boy will be lost forever."

Derek gently applied pressure to the trigger, his eyes locked with Jason's. Seeing that he wasn't going to take the bait, Derek removed his finger from the trigger and lowered the weapon. Jason raised his eyebrows and placed his hands behind his back in the same manner as Derek often did.

"Hop along, lieutenant. Mommy's waiting for you."

With every ounce of self-restraint that he possessed, Derek turned away from the cage and left the basement, leaving Jason to hum an annoyingly cheery victory tune to himself.

--

Sarah looked up to see Derek dump the shotgun on the table before collapsing into an armchair.

"Well?"

"All I got out of that bastard was a shit-eating grin and a crap-load of witty deflections."

Sarah sighed and gently stretched her right arm, wincing as her shoulder throbbed painfully.

"He didn't say anything about what he's done with him."

"He claims the Kid is still alive, and that if he doesn't get free in the next five hours, the boy will die."

Sarah ran a hand through her hair and shook her head.

"Fine, I'll have a crack at him. Maybe he'll let something slip."

Sarah got to her feet and picked up the shotgun before staggering to the door, her shoulder a constant reminder of what she was about to face.

--

John closed one eye and peered into the barrel of his gun before sliding a cleaning brush inside and stroked it back and forth, removing any trace amounts of dust or powder. It wasn't long until he could hear a faint noise coming from Cameron's room, making him pause as he tried to identify it. After a few seconds, he registered it as music, classical music to be exact. Curiosity getting the better of him, John put down the gun and got to his feet, slowly creeping to her door.

Once there, he poked his head through the gap in the door and froze at the sight of Cameron performing the Pas De Chat. She moved with an elegance that no human could possibly achieve, her graceful twirls making John's head spin. Cameron raised herself onto her tip-toes and spun around in a glorious arc, finally coming to a perfectly controlled stop as she folded her arms together to make a cross. Though she had her back to him, John could still see her face in the mirror, and she appeared to possess a look of pure content. Her eyes flicked up and spotted John in the mirror, who suddenly felt very embarrassed.

"That's ah… very good."

"Thank you."

She turned around to face him properly, her face returning to its usual indifference.

"I didn't know you could do that."

"There's a lot I can do that you don't know about."

John's eyebrows rose as a dozen questions ran through his head, the most prominent being: "such as?"

"Really? I would never have guessed."

Cameron opened her mouth to reply, but seemed to think twice and decided to remain silent, plunging them into an uncomfortable silence. John wanted to turn away and leave, but he couldn't summon the will to do so, she just continued to stare at him with a meek look of curiosity. Unable to hold her gaze, John let his eyes drop to the floor before taking note of her beautifully bare feet and a small sliver of a smile touched his lips as he noticed that she'd painted her nails a peachy colour. Cameron followed his gaze and glanced down at her toes, causing John to look elsewhere as another wave of embarrassment swept over him.

"Is there something you wanted?"

It was a simple question, but John didn't trust himself to answer it truthfully.

"Err, no, I just… I heard the music and wondered where it was coming from. I'll a… I'll leave you to it."

John was halfway down the hall when she called out his name, and despite his earlier conviction, John returned to her room.

"What is it?"

"I've practised on my own plenty of times, but now I would like to try something different. Can you teach me how to dance with a partner?"

John's mind started to race: _"partner"_?

"What makes you think that I know anything about dancing?"

"You once told me that you went to a dance when you were thirteen years old."

John scoured his brain and found what she was referring to; a distant memory of his rebellious days.

"That was in ninth grade, Cameron. I can hardly remember it, let alone recall any dancing."

"Oh… okay then."

Her face fell, much as it did when he refused her offer for a study date the day they first met, and it stung him as deeply then as it did now.

"Uh, alright, I'll try."

Her face lit up with gratitude and joy, so much so that John easily recognized it as fake in an instant. Regardless, he approached her and started to suffer an internal panic as he struggled to remember how everything goes. With obvious awkwardness, John took her right hand in his left and placed her left on his right shoulder and hesitated a moment before placing his right hand on her hip. Cameron assessed the arrangement and decided that this was an adequate position for the kind of dance she wanted to try.

"Right, now just follow my lead, and don't be surprised if I accidently step on your toes. It has been a long time since I did this."

"Okay, I'll follow your lead."

Before he could begin, however, Cameron reached out and pressed a button on the radio, changing the music to something that better suited their current situation. John suddenly felt very foolish as the slow tones flowed between them and Cameron remained still, patiently waiting for him to begin. Knowing that he'd committed himself already, John took a deep breath before taking his first step. After the first few movements, Cameron seemed to have picked up the basic principal of his performance and began to mimic his steps perfectly. It wasn't long before she surpassed his negligible skill and started leading him instead, not once making contact with each other's feet.

They carried on like this for what seemed like an eternity, John becoming lost in her eyes, and she returning his gaze with equal measure. With all the chaos that had befallen them these past few days, John could honestly say that he felt at peace in this moment, despite the lingering fact that their charge might be lying dead somewhere and that his murderer was locked up in their basement. The song came to a slow end, and Cameron let go of John, much to his regret. But he knew he mustn't push his luck, he knew that there was a line between him and Cameron, and he knew he had to stay on the right side.

"Thank you for teaching me."

John let out a short laugh and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I think you taught me more than I taught you."

Cameron tilted her head to one side, as if he'd just spoken in another language.

"You taught me more than just how to dance, John."

John narrowed his eyes at her as she turned her back on him and switched off the radio before gathering her shoes. Realising that she was not in a sharing mood right now, John turned around and left her alone with her thoughts, not knowing that the one and only thing on her mind was John Connor.

--

Sarah dropped the shotgun on the table with such force that tiny cracks spread across the wooden surface like shattered glass.

"I take it he wasn't forthcoming with the Kid's location then."

Sarah gave Derek a glare that told him she'd had more than enough witty remarks for one day.

"The smug son of a bitch can read minds, I swear to God. Every time I got close to finding out what he knows, he turns the damn question around on me. What does he think this is anyway, a game? Is that all this is to him? Doesn't he care that we might kill him any second?"

"It's how he views the world."

Sarah and Derek followed the voice to the staircase, seeing Cameron standing there with an equally confused John behind her. Sarah frowned at the two as they came into the living room proper.

"And what the hell have you two been doing all this time?"

John collapsed into a chair and returned Sarah's glare with one of his own.

"I was cleaning the weapons, like you told me to."

Sarah's face lost some of its steeliness but remained stern enough to satisfy her inner frustrations. Derek leaned forward to take a sip from his beer before regarding John with contemplation.

"I thought I heard some music earlier."

John turned to his uncle in slight surprise but quickly regained his composure.

"Yeah, that was Cameron."

Derek leaned back into his chair, his eyes growing dark as he stared at the machine and remembered seeing her dance in their old house, a sick mockery of human beauty. Sarah eventually sighed and slouched on the couch, closing her eyes in sheer tiredness.

"We need him to talk, now. We need to know what he knows. Cameron, I think it's about time you pulled your weight. Just remember not to kill him until after you get what we need."

Cameron looked out the window distractedly before nodding silently and leaving through the front door. After a few moments, John followed suite, hoping that maybe he'll get some answers if they both approach Jason together. Cameron was already halfway down the steps when he left the house and he had to skip them three at a time to catch up with her.

"Cameron! Wait! We do this together."

She regarded him with a slight frown.

"That's not advisable, John. Your presence will only grant him a wider range of ammunition."

"Or it could divide his attention. Either way, you're not going in alone."

Something flickered across her face for a second, something John couldn't quite put his finger on, but it made him feel good about himself.

"Okay, John. But don't forget; everything he says is either a lie or some perversion of the truth. Do not let him get to you."

John nodded in acknowledgement and reached for the handle, but Cameron beat him to it and their hands brushed together as she opened the door and stepped into the gloom beyond, John following close behind.

--

"Well, if it isn't my favourite couple; John and Cameron, how beautiful your kids would've been."

Jason was at the very rear of the cage, his back pressed up against the wall, half concealed in shadow. His first remark caught John totally off guard and he found it hard to keep his shock from showing. Cameron, on the other hand, seemed unaffected by Jason's comment and simply approached the cage, breaking the boundary she herself had drawn. Jason made no attempt to attack, however, fully aware of the futility of such a move.

"You're going to answer some questions."

Jason chuckled and pushed himself off the wall, slowly approaching the bars and stopping short of Cameron's reach.

"And why would I do that, Cammy?"

"Because I will kill you if you don't."

Jason laughed once more and took a step to his left, his gaze switching from Cameron to John, who prepared himself for whatever Jason had planned.

"John Connor, legend, warrior, leader of the Resistance. And what are you now? A petulant child who's so wrapped up in his own teenage hormonal crap that he can't see the world to save it. Some messiah you'll turn out to be."

John could feel his cheeks burning and had to clench his fists to keep from putting a bullet in Jason's face.

"I never claimed to be anything less. In case it escaped your keen notice, I never wanted this destiny of mine. I doubt you'd feel different in my position."

"Hmm, maybe, maybe not, we all need a purpose Johnny boy, even if that purpose comes at a price. I for one cannot abide the thought of being a pure human…"

Jason looked John up and down with a shudder.

"…all that weakness crammed into such a fragile shell. It makes my skin crawl. Cameron's more appealing than you, but then again, you probably already know that."

Jason allowed himself another chuckle as John glanced at Cameron, who gave him the slightest of nods.

"Tell us what you've done with the boy."

"Sorry, sweetie, I'm not feeling very much like sharing at the moment."

Cameron gripped the bars and squeezed, causing them to groan under the pressure.

"You are going to tell me where he is."

"And why would I do that, honey comb?"

Cameron pressed her head against the bars, her eyes locked with his.

"Because I know you, I know what you fear."

Jason closed the distance between them and leaned close, their faces mere inches apart from each other.

"I know you too, remember?"

Though John couldn't see from his current angle, he could almost sense the anger that flashed through her eyes, the anger that made her grab Jason's shirt and slam him forward into the bars. She then pulled a knife out of her pocket and held it a millimetre away from his right eye, and John felt certain that she would gouge it out unless he stepped in.

"Cameron, don't! We need him alive. We need him to talk."

"You better listen to him; he has a very good point. Kill me and you will never see that little runt ever again. He'll die and it will be entirely your fault. Then they'll kill you, Sarah and Derek, they'll lock you in a thermite layered room and burn you alive. Is that what you want, little Miss once-a-human?"

John, his mind fogged by Jason's comment, slowly approached Cameron and tentatively placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Cameron, please. We can't kill him, not yet. Give me the knife."

At first she didn't respond, but as she slowly acknowledged the warmth on her shoulder, Cameron passed the knife over to him and relinquished her grip on Jason. To her genuine surprise, John jabbed the knife into Jason's left side, cutting deep into his lung. He cried out and staggered to the back of the cage, clutching his wound, before regaining his composure and laughing haphazardly.

"Well… what do you know… he has a pair after all… But this won't accomplish anything."

Jason returned to full height and took a deep, steadying breath before straightening his shirt as if nothing had happened.

"You stab me anywhere and it will heal in a matter of hours. You puncture a lung and it will seal itself almost instantly. So do your worst, 'cos I'm not telling you anything. Not under these conditions."

John looked down at the knife, seeing the unnaturally dark blood on the blade, and was struck by a sudden need.

"Cameron, please give us a moment."

Cameron eyed him suspiciously for a long moment.

"What are you going to do, John?"

"You trust me, don't you?"

Cameron's face betrayed confusion and slight concern.

"Yes."

"Then give us a moment. Please."

She continued to search his face for a few seconds before striding to the door and, looking back at him, closed it behind her. Satisfied that they were alone, John took a step closer to the cage, glaring at Jason, whose breaths were drawn and ragged, a result of only one fully functional lung.

"No more games. You are going to tell me what I want to know."

"I'm not telling you where he is, so quit while you're ahead."

"That's not what I want to know, not at the moment."

Jason narrowed his eyes at John as a small smile started to creep across his lips.

"Ah, a separate agenda, how very interesting, do share."

"You know Cameron in the future. She told me once that you murdered her. And a moment ago you called her a human. So this is my proposition: you answer my very simple questions and I'll release you."

Jason scoffed his proposal and stepped closer.

"And what assurance can you give that you'll hold up your end?"

John placed the knife on the horizontal cross bar of the cage and took several steps back. Jason took the knife and examined it closely, analysing its effectiveness as a throwing weapon, determining it as inefficient, given its design and weight.

"Okay then, I'll play."

"Good, now for my first question: who is Cameron in the future and how do you know her?"

Jason leaned against the cage and let out a sigh as he looked back on events past.

"Cameron Phillips was a soldier in the Resistance military. Her speciality was engineering and reprogramming machines for your use. We, that is to say; Skynet, received intel that you and she had a close relationship. As all previous assassination attempts had failed miserably, Skynet decided upon a different approach. So I was assigned to infiltrate your base with the explicit instructions to capture and kill Cameron."

"So she was actually… human?"

"Yes; and a rather delightful one at that."

John looked back at the door, wondering how she could keep something like that from him all this time.

"But you killed her?"

"I did, but not without regret, as I said before; very delightful. I lured her to a secluded spot and snapped her neck."

John let out a shuddering gasp as he envisioned everything he was being told. Jason, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, felt a twinge of sympathy for John. _Perhaps I haven't come to terms with that after all_, he mused.

"She didn't feel a thing. It was quick and painless."

"What did you do then?"

"I smuggled her body out of the base and into Skynet's hands. Her entire skin structure was then mapped and replicated for the replacement."

"Replacement?"

John suspected that Cameron had a complicated past, but this was beyond anything he could've imagined, and it hurt more so because of it. Jason inclined his head towards the basement door which Cameron had left through.

"The machine who's waiting outside that door. Skynet then proceeded to map her memories and personality into the machine's neural net, thereby making a one-off copy of the original."

"How, she was dead?"

"Even after you die, your brain still functions for a long time. Memories linger and thoughts still drift around, how else would someone come back to life when resuscitated?"

John nodded silently as thoughts of his own mortality started to surface.

"What then?"

"Once the S.I.P transfer was complete, I smuggled her back into the base. The whole process was perfectly timed; she was only gone for a few hours."

"What happened to her body?"

"The body was incinerated."

John closed his eyes as ghastly images flashed through his mind, visions of fire and burnt flesh.

"And the other Cameron, what happened with her?"

"She awoke to find herself in your quarters with no memory of my actions or her death. She still believed herself to be Cameron Phillips and was none the wiser about her being a machine, as was Skynet's intent. When she met you again, Skynet activated an override, but somehow it failed and she continued as if nothing happened. Four weeks passed, and you two became so much closer. Too close. Finally, Skynet managed to force an override and she reverted back to her machine settings, and she tried to kill you."

"Obviously she failed."

"Obviously, you were able to subdue her and had her reprogrammed. Unfortunately for yourself, all memories of who she was had been deleted during the override, and when you re-activated her she was just a blank slate. Yet another spectacular failure on our part."

John felt like he was going to be sick and stumbled back onto the chair that Derek had used previously, his breaths coming in sharp waves as he went over what Jason had just told him. Cameron was once human, but then she was assassinated by Jason, who then had her replaced by an identical machine replica. A replica that he, his future self, had fallen in love with. And now she knew everything, she remembered who and what she was based off. One question rose above all others: is she really human beneath the metal and wires?

"Aww, look, I've spooked the poor baby. You gonna cry now, isn't that what humans do?"

Jason didn't need his years of psychological training to tell him that the look on John's face right now was of pure rage. And for the first time in his life, Jason finally met the John Connor of legend. A man with a fury unlike any before him, a man who would single-handedly lead humanity to victory in the war to come. Seeing this man in the body of a 16 year-old, however, only added to the surrealism of it all. As if in slow motion, John removed a gun from his belt and aimed for Jason's head, ready to blow his brains all to hell…

"So much for promises, you know you really out to-"

…and he pulled the trigger, to hell with the consequences.

--

Two shots rang out and Cameron spun around, an overwhelming need to determine John's fate filled every space in her mind. She bashed the door open with such force that it flew clear of its hinges and crashed to the floor several feet away. She stepped inside and increased the clarity of her vision, allowing her to see better in the dim atmosphere. John was standing to the side of the cage; gun in hand, whilst Jason writhed on the floor, a bullet in both legs. A quick scan showed elevated stress patterns in John's breathing, along with an increase in adrenaline. She noticed his hands were shaking and determined that he was in no fit state to handle a weapon at the moment.

"John, the gun, please."

He made little indication that he'd heard her, but held up the gun regardless, and she carefully pried it from his hand. Cameron flicked the safety on and looked down at Jason, who was already in the process of forcing the bullets out of his wounds.

"Did he give you what we need?"

John crouched down to the cage and reached inside, retrieving the knife before Jason could grasp it; Cameron grabbed John by the shoulder and pulled him back before Jason could snatch his wrist. John got to his feet and examined the knife closely before folding it up and putting it back into his pocket.

"He told me what I wanted to know, but he won't tell us what we want to know."

Before she could reply, John turned and left the basement, meeting a concerned Sarah and Derek outside. Cameron remained where she was, unable to fully fathom John's meaning. A short, pain-ridding, chuckle of satisfaction came from within the cage and Cameron turned her attention to the wounded assassin.

"You should have answered his questions more thoroughly. Next time he might aim a little higher."

"Concerned for my well being, Cameron?"

"No, not yours…"

She turned her back on Jason and watched as John shrugged off Sarah's concerns and Derek's questions.

"…his."

_To be continued… _


	8. Release

**Chapter Eight: Release**

2029

Jason hurtled down the corridor, leaving all thoughts of duty and obligation behind him. Everything had gone so wrong for Skynet, everything had gone so wrong for Jason. The whole world had gone wrong. Skynet's vision of a new world has been completely smashed, all of its best laid plans turned to ruin. But there was hope; yes, machines have hope. Jason knew he could still save his creator, even though the Resistance had already destroyed it.

The lights flickered on and off erratically, a sign of a major power drain elsewhere in the complex, but that was okay, because Jason knew that to be a good sign that the Time Displacement Equipment was working. He pushed his body harder, determined to reach the device before Connor and his invading force could gain access. Jason knew that any encounter with Connor would result in his death, not just because of the overwhelming forces that he commanded, but because he, Jason, had taken something very precious from the saviour.

An explosion shook the entire facility and Jason crashed into the wall as debris flew every which a way, revealing a large team of soldiers and reprogrammed machines. Before they could get the chance to riddle him with plasma, Jason bolted for the door at the end of the corridor and shoved his eyes against the retinal ID scan, cursing its slow scanning process. It unlocked quickly though, and Jason was able to wrench the heavy door open and seal it before his pursuers could catch up.

He warily stood back from the door as heavy thuds resounded from it, a sign that the machines were coming for him. The sound of their constant physical barrage was soon drowned out, however, as the TDE achieved full power and the time sphere began to take shape. Jason approached the interface and typed in the year 2008 before stepping onto the platform as arcs of lightning surrounded him. Suddenly, the door burst open, much to Jason's surprise, revealing a T-900 as the demolition culprit. Beside the metal assassin stood John Connor, who strode into the room without pause and raised his gun.

For the first time in his life, Jason felt genuine fear. To come this far and fail was terrifying. He couldn't fail, he couldn't let it all end like this, but he knew he had little choice in the matter as John squeezed the trigger and the last thing he remembered before falling through time was a sharp pain in his temple as the bullet imbedded itself in his skull, wiping away his entire past.

--

"Itsy bitsy spider ran up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out."

Jason chuckled as he recited the children's nursery rhyme, finding a dozen inherent metaphors buried beneath the words. _Humans are a fascinating species_, he admitted to himself. _Everything they do is so inefficient and illogical, maybe that's why we have such a hard time killing them in the future_, he mused. His mild boredom satisfied for the moment, Jason conducted an internal diagnostic, discovering that his injuries were almost completely healed. A check of his chronometer also told him that he had less than an hour to contact the T-900 before it killed the boy. _Oh well, might as well break the silence now_, he thought.

"_T-900, are you reading me? Answer!"_

A few moments silence passed and then…

"_Reading you with full clarity; state your instructions."_

"_I've been captured and am being held at the Connor's safe house. You know the one. Come and get me, I've outstayed my welcome."_

Another moment of silence passed.

"_Understood; estimated time of arrival: 20:31pm. What shall I do with the prisoner?"_

Jason considered this carefully. _Should I kill him? It would teach the Connors a lesson. But then again, what would be the point? No, better to let the runt live, just in case he comes in handy somewhere down the end_, he decided.

"_Bring him along. He will make the perfect shield should my escape go wrong."_

"_I will bring him then."_

The machine's presence faded from Jason's mind and he leaned back against the wall, a smile of content on his face as his imminent release approached in the form of a heavily armoured killing machine.

"Oh, this is going to be fun."

--

_Analysing… Cellular damage has been completely repaired…_

Cameron examined her newly regenerated eye with little scrutiny; it looked the same as it did before the enemy Terminator shredded it with her very own assault rifle. She blinked multiple times to re-moisten the eye, giving it that familiar gleam that she'd become so used to seeing each morning when she applied make-up as part of her social camouflage. With that in mind, Cameron opened the drawer on her 

cabinet and retrieved her stick of eyeliner, which she then started applying with strategic care. Though she was unsure as to why she felt the need to pretty herself up, she was not going beyond the boundaries of the house anytime soon and it was highly unlikely that anyone would come to call. Still, once finished with the eyeliner, Cameron moved, almost instinctively, to her wide selection of lipsticks and chose the peach one this time.

Once applied, Cameron pressed her lips together as she'd seen many girls do in the school toilets, though she didn't quite understand the benefits of such an action. Deciding it didn't matter, Cameron pushed back her chair and opened another drawer by her feet, this one containing an assortment of jewellery, not all of it bought and paid for. She scanned the contents for a few seconds before settling on an unassuming necklace with a jade pendant attached. She also took out a pair of plain chrome earrings, which she pierced through her lobes, the holes having healed less than an hour after she removed her last pair.

Satisfied that her façade as a normal, if slightly odd, girl was adequately maintained, Cameron got to her feet and left her room to find out what was happening downstairs. As was their custom, Sarah and Derek were once again arguing, the subject of which seemed to be Jason, as expected.

"Well I say we just kill the bastard now, while we have the chance."

"Aren't you forgetting that the poor kid is still out there somewhere? We cannot risk losing him, not again."

Both were oblivious to Cameron's presence, and in truth, she rather preferred it that way. After all, they were not the reason she had left the sanctuary of her room. Even a machine needs some time alone now and then. She left the adults to their quarrels and drifted into the kitchen, where she found John helping himself to some left over pizza. He glanced up at her, his face sullen, and merely nodded in recognition of her existence. This Cameron knew to be a sign that he didn't want to talk right now, but there were things that needed to be discussed regardless.

"We need to talk."

John slumped on a stool and took a bite out of the pizza, purposely chewing slowly so as to avoid not answering. Cameron knew then that she'd have to take the initiative in order to get a response from him.

"I need to know what you and Jason talked about."

John swallowed and Cameron expected a reply, but instead he raised the slice to his mouth again, forcing Cameron to snatch it out of his grip. John glared at her and tried to take it back, but Cameron held it away from her with one hand and placed the other on his chest, stopping him from reaching out for it. Knowing it to be futile, John sighed and dropped back onto the stool.

"Now will you tell me what you two talked about?"

John crossed his arms defiantly and continued to give her a dark look, his eyes flicking from her to the pizza.

"Who's to say we talked about anything?"

"John."

Cameron could see that her application of tenderness was working as John's gaze softened at the change in her tone.

"Look, I don't wanna talk about it, okay? I poked my nose where it didn't belong and now I'm stuck with the consequences. So just let me deal with them in my own way… alone."

Cameron tilted her head to one side as she analysed his mannerism and determined that whatever he learned was troubling him a great deal. Comparing his demeanour with previous records, Cameron knew the subject of whatever he and Jason discussed was about her in some way.

"He told you about me, didn't he?"

John held her gaze for a moment before looking down at his hands, the memories of that revelation flooding him once more.

"When were you going to tell me? Or were you just going to keep lying to me until I discovered the truth myself?"

"I didn't know about my past. If I had, I might have told you, or I might not. It would all depend upon whether I thought you were ready to know."

John scoffed and looked up at her, annoyance and frustration lining his features.

"And who are you to decide whether or not I'm ready to know something like that?"

Cameron returned his glare with a cold stare as she drew herself to full height.

"They're my memories, my past, does that not make it my decision to share them or not?"

John wanted to say "no", to say that she was a machine and therefore had no rights to anything, but he knew this wasn't the truth.

"I guess you're right. But if we're going to trust each other then we need to be honest, completely. No more lies. No more secrets."

"Some secrets are necessary. But I will be honest with you about my past from now on."

John nodded slowly and once again looked at his hands as he decided upon which question to ask first.

"You were once… human."

"Yes… and no. I am, and always have been, a machine. I simply possess the face and the memories of that human. I am not her."

John expected such a response from her, but that didn't make hearing it any easier as it made his next question infinitely harder to ask.

"Jason also told me… that we were close, in the future I mean. How close were we exactly?"

Cameron tore a piece off the pizza slice and carefully put it into John's mouth, much to his surprise, though he didn't shy away or make a scene. He simply allowed her to place it on his tongue, her fingers lingering on his lips for a beat before removing them.

"I don't need to know anymore, thank you for being honest with me, John."

And with that, she took a bite out of the pizza and strode out of the kitchen, leaving a dumbstruck John in her wake. He eventually remembered the food in his mouth and started to chew, tasting the slightest hint of her artificial sweat amongst the tomato and cheese, bringing a miniscule smile to his lips.

--

Cameron fixed the last bolt into the wall and tested the door to make sure the new hinge was working properly, which it was. With this task complete, Cameron gathered her tools and glanced at Jason, who seemed to be asleep and was about to leave when he suddenly cried out.

"No! No! NO! YOU CAN'T! YOU CA-! THIS ISN'T HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE! STOP! ST-! NO!"

He awoke with a start, his breathing heavy and his heart racing. It took a moment for Jason to recognize his surroundings as he looked around the cage and remembered who he was and why he was here. He let out a breath and closed his eyes again as he leaned his head back against the wall, unaware of Cameron's presence as she slowly approached the cage.

"I didn't know I-950s could dream during a convalescent state."

Jason's eyes snapped open at the sound of her voice and his face darkened.

"Neither did I. This is the first time it's happened to me."

Cameron knelt down and narrowed her eyes at the infiltrator.

"What did you dream about?"

"And why in the hell would you care? In case you've forgotten, I'm not one for sharing my thankfully limited emotions with others, especially not with someone I previously terminated."

Cameron's face went ashen at his blunt and callous reference to his murder of her human originator, a feeling of hurtful anger welling inside her, though Cameron knew it didn't truly belong to her. Jason seemed not to have noticed, however.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you trying to kill me already? I've obviously outlived my usefulness, why don't you come in here and finish the job? Don't you want revenge for what I did to you?"

Cameron considered his question carefully. Did she want him dead? Part of her said "yes" whereas the other reminded her that she was a machine and is therefore above such desires. Cameron never wanted to kill anyone, but she did anyway, because that is what she is programmed to do.

"I don't know."

Jason got to his feet and took a few steps towards the bars.

"Well I'll make it simple for you then. Open this cage and kill me. I want you to. Come on, do it! Get revenge for what I did to you."

Cameron stood up but made no attempt to acquiesce his request, nor was she affected by his goading.

"That wasn't me you killed. I won't kill you unless you become an immediate threat."

Cameron turned away and was halfway to the door when Jason spoke out again…

"What about John?"

…making her stop in her tracks and face him, a look of slight confusion on her face.

"John?"

"Yes. You and he were in love, which; as I've been told, is a very strong bond to break. Even death fails to severe these ties, so imagine how he felt when he discovered what you'd become. That those moments with you were ultimately hollow and lost. Ouch, I gotta say, even I find that prospect to be… painful."

That detached anger slowly settled in once more, causing Cameron to override her logical approach as she stalked towards the cage.

"I think I'd be hurt too, if I were to discover that the girl I had shared my most intimate affections with was actually a cheap knock-off of the real thing."

Cameron stood just short of the boundary and glared at the I-950, who was now grinning mockingly at her obvious rage.

"And you wanna know the worst part? Hmm?"

Jason pressed his head against the bars and Cameron likewise took a step over the boundary.

"You broke his heart. Something you'll never possess."

Cameron knew this to be right as a flash recording of her activation took a whole new perspective, she now realised exactly why John was so upset when he reprogrammed her. The floodgates that kept her echoed emotions in place fell apart as her human anguish rose to the surface, making her smash open the cage door. Jason backed away as she entered, clutching a jagged drill piece in her hand, ready to drive it into his skull and put an end to his sorry existence.

As she lunged forwards, weapon raised to kill, Jason suddenly dashed to his right, placing his foot on the bars and propelling himself towards the open door. He landed in a forward roll which carried him straight to his feet. Before Cameron could react, Jason slammed the door shut and delivered a kick to the lock at such an angle that the entire thing contorted, preventing it from ever opening again. Cameron jabbed the drill piece through the bars but Jason caught her arm and pulled her forward so that she was pressed against them.

He then twisted her arm and stabbed her in the abdomen, the drill piece becoming lodged between two servos. As she struggled to wiggle the piece loose, Jason casually gathered his coat before approaching her once more, a smug smile on his face.

"In case any of them survive, I'll be sure to tell them that I couldn't have done it without you."

He then gave her a kiss on the lips before chuckling and leaving the basement without a second glance. Cameron was beside herself; she couldn't believe that she'd fallen for such an obvious trick. This was exactly what Jason was trying to achieve, he wanted her to become overwhelmed by the emotions of her past, so much so that she would abandon all sense of reason and grant him the window of escape.

Cameron finally managed to tear the drill piece from her innards and threw it across the room in frustration before turning her attention to the cage door, noticing the damaged lock. Before she could do anything about it, however, the sound of gunshots reached her ears and she tensed for a moment before her resolve returned in full force: protect John. She bashed the lock as hard and fast as she could, desperate reach him before he paid the price for her error.

--

Derek opened the fridge and let out a groan of annoyance upon finding that the last slice of pizza had already been appropriated. He fumbled around the contents, looking for an alternative to stave his growing hunger and found a microwave burger. Before he could take it out of its packaging, however, he heard the door bell ring and gripped his gun as he approached the front door. This new one lacked an eye hole, so Derek cautiously opened the door and peered outside.

"CRAP!"

Derek slammed the door shut and backed away, his gun raised.

"METAL! SARAH, JOHN, WE GOT METAL!"

The door once again flew off its hinges as the T-900 stepped onto the threshold and unleashed a torrent of machine gun fire, forcing Derek to dive into the living room as multiple bullets shredded the furniture. Derek crouched behind the couch and slowly shuffled towards the stairs without revealing his presence to the machine. The T-900 scanned the room, finding no sign of Derek, and turned its attention to the stairs. Before it could place a single step on them, however, Derek popped out of his hiding place and fired several shots into the back of the machine's head.

The T-900 swivelled around and fired a burst in Derek's direction, making him dash into the bathroom. Before the T-900 could follow, Sarah appeared at the top of the stairs and fired multiple shotgun rounds into the machine's chest, driving it into the kitchen. As she continued to unload shell after shell into the Terminator, John darted for the back door, only to find Jason standing there. For all the good it would do, John slammed the door shut, but like before it did nothing to stop the infiltrator, who smashed it open again.

John backed away as Jason raised a nail-gun and fired two rounds into John's chest. He felt like his lungs were on fire as the two nails imbedded themselves into his ribs, stopping short of any major organs. As Jason advanced, ready to put another in John's eye, Sarah 

attempted to drive the butt of her gun into his chin, but to no avail as the I-950 ducked and fired a nail into her stomach, causing her to collapse in excruciating pain. Derek swung around from the bathroom and fired three shots, two of which struck Jason on his left side. The infiltrator grunted in anguish but quickly recovered and fired several nails at Derek, who withdrew back into the bathroom to reload.

Jason returned his attention to John as the T-900 got back to its feet in the kitchen and drew a Desert Eagle from its belt and pulled back the hammer. Between the two of them, Jason could see no way that the Connors could escape this time, so he was surprised when Cameron's fist suddenly emerged from his stomach.

"Wha-?"

Cameron removed her fist and spin-kicked the I-950 aside before charging the T-900 and shielding John from the Terminator's kill shots. The bullets stopped Cameron in her tracks for a moment, but she regained her composure and kicked the gun out of the T-900's hand before slamming the machine back into the kitchen. Derek rushed out of the bathroom and helped Sarah to her feet before doing the same for John, who was cradling his injuries. Cameron turned back to them and performed a quick scan of John's wounds, determining them as non-fatal.

"Get John out of here, now! Go!"

Sarah and Derek didn't need to be told twice as they both carried John to the back door, stopping only to collect the shotgun.

"Make sure you take care of it this time."

Cameron nodded in recognition of Sarah's order as she and Derek dragged John out of the house. Cameron marched into the kitchen and grabbed the T-900, ploughing it through the kitchen wall and into the dining room, smashing the table to pieces as they wrestled for control. The T-900 was stronger, however, and kicked Cameron off of itself, following up with another kick that sent her hurtling into the storage room and colliding with multiple gas canisters. Before she could even react, the T-900 was on her again and dragged her by the ankle into the living room. It then lifted her up and slammed her back down onto the floor, shattering the hardwood.

Unbeknownst to either, the gas canisters were beginning to rupture and gas poured into their midst as the T-900 slammed its boot into Cameron's face, crushing it into the floor. As her vision became obscured by the enemy's boot, Cameron knew that there was no way she could possibly defeat this superior model. It was twice as strong, twice as fast, and three times as resilient. This was a machine created to terminate other machines, as she was about to discover.

The T-900 picked her up and slammed her against the ceiling, causing the concrete supports to buckle and come crashing down on them both. Cameron was trapped beneath it, but the T-900 was no better off, its own tactics having backfired. Cameron struggled to get free, but her lower legs refused to shift. It was only then that Cameron became aware of the increase of gas in the air and knew that the risk of ignition was imminent. The T-900, who was buried too securely to ever get free, reached out to grasp her head, but was a few inches short of contact.

Seeing no other option available, Cameron drew up a 3D image of her lower half in her HUD and selected the joints around her lower legs, ordering them to perform an emergency detachment. The connectors in her thigh crackled and burst as she wrenched herself free of her trapped half, the skin tearing and wires twisting as he pulled away, leaving her lower legs behind. Now free, Cameron flipped herself over and began almost frantically to crawl to the back door but the T-900 managed to snatch the wires protruding from one of her severed legs.

Cameron looked back at the machine, her eyes widening as it drew its metal digit across a patch of exposed endoskeleton, creating a spark as metal scraped against metal. Realising what the T-900 was trying to achieve, Cameron returned her attention to the door and scrambled desperately, trying with all her might to get free from the machine's grip before it blew them both to pieces.

--

Sarah and Derek carried John down the drive, the sounds of crashing and untold destruction coming from within the house. _Fucking machines_, Sarah thought, _I really liked this house_. They dragged the injured youth towards the T-900's car, stopping in their tracks as they came upon Jason, who was in the process of opening the trunk. Before either Derek or Sarah could raise their weapons, Jason pulled the Kid out of the trunk and held him in their line of fire.

"Now, now, don't go doing anything rash. We wouldn't want this poor little kid to end up in the local paper tomorrow, do we?"

Derek let go of John and raised his weapon, aiming for Jason's head.

"By the time you pull that trigger, Reese, I will have already moved the boy's head into the path of your bullet."

Derek simply smirked and began applying pressure to the trigger.

"You really think you're that fast?"

"Derek! Don't you dare!"

Derek glanced at Sarah, who was practically burning a hole in his face with the intensity of her glare. He slowly lowered the gun and watched as Jason side-stepped around the car, approaching the driver's seat, his stomach wound bleeding freely. The Kid was utterly terrified and would likely have been screaming were he not gagged. Sarah felt her heart twinge at the sight, but was just as relieved that he was alive in the first place. Jason fumbled with the door handle for a moment before getting it open.

Before he could get in, however, the house suddenly exploded, showering them all in debris. Seeing his chance, Jason hurled the Kid at the Connors and slid into the car, twisting the key into the ignition and driving off at full speed. Sarah scrambled over to the boy, who was now crying in pain and fear. Tenderly, she removed the gag and untied his hands, which were raw from the bindings. He launched himself into her arms and she held him close as he sobbed into her shoulder.

Derek brushed the brick dust and splintered wood out of his hair before checking up on John, who was taking deep, ragged breaths as blood seeped from the two nails in his chest.

"Hey, buddy. How're you doing?"

John laughed awkwardly, coughing and clenching his fist against the pain.

"Never… better… Where's Cameron?"

Derek looked up at the wreckage that was once their house and knew that there could be no way for the machine to have survived that explosion, but he didn't want to upset his nephew, not when he currently had two nails dug into his chest.

"She'll be fine. That stubborn metal is probably disposing of the other one as we speak."

John didn't look convinced and tried to roll over to get a better look at the house, but Sarah grasped his shoulder and held him in place.

"No, John, c'mon, we have to go before the cops show up."

John tried to get loose but his strength was all but completely drained.

"No, no, I have to know that she's safe. I have to know, I have to… know."

John suddenly went limp as he slipped into unconsciousness. For a moment, Sarah feared the worst but a quick check of his pulse put aside her worries and she let out a deep sigh of relief. Derek gathered John in his arms and lifted him up, Sarah doing the same with the Kid. She and Derek paid once last glance at the house before carrying the boys over to a nearby car, which Derek broke into and hotwired. They drove away as fast as the speed limit would allow, determined not to attract attention as they hunted for a place to hide.

--

_Restart… Full system check… Report: significant damage to endoskeleton… Lower limbs absent… CPU intact…_

_Rerouting power to primary functions…_

Cameron's eyes flashed a deep blue as her systems were fully restored, returning her to machine consciousness. After performing a detailed self-diagnostic, Cameron swept aside the debris that covered her, discovering that she had been thrown by the blast and was now in the back garden along with the twisted remains of her lower legs. Though she didn't believe in luck or providence, Cameron couldn't help but find the unlikely survival of her previously trapped limbs to be a strange coincidence.

A quick radiation scan of the house informed her that the T-900's plasma reactor had gone critical in the explosion, causing a shockwave that was most likely the cause of her relocation. Though the means and circumstances still confused her, Cameron knew for certain that the T-900 was terminated and that there would not be any evidence of its existence. Knowing that now was not the time to lie around and ponder the factors in her survival; Cameron rolled over onto her stomach and crawled towards the nearest leg, which she then tucked under her shredded shirt.

Once both were secure on her back, Cameron ran through a list of possible locations the Connors would go to in this situation and made a list of the ten most likely. With the first location mapped in her peripheral, Cameron began what would likely be a long and futile search for her quarry and as she crawled through the debris; Cameron knew that she would have to endure whatever hardship that lay ahead, because John needed her and she would not fail him again.

_To be continued… _


	9. Choices

**Chapter Nine: Choices**

A dim light shone through the lids of his eyes as he slowly regained consciousness and all memories of the other day were washed away. John pried his eyes open and instantly slammed them shut again as the sun glare tore through his vision. Raising a hand to shield him self this time, John once again opened his sight to see the world as it should be; serene, peaceful, with no threat of an impending apocalypse. John was in the comfortable confines of his bed and he had to fight very hard against the urge to fall back to sleep again. His efforts would've been futile had he not spotted a brown-eyed girl standing next to the window, the sun's radiance making her skin glow in luminescence.

Sensing his gaze, Cameron turned to John, an adoring smile on her lips, and tilted her head to one side.

"You're awake. You had me worried there for a moment."

John barely registered the fact that she'd spoken, his attention being focused on the pearly white dress she wore. It seemed to shimmer at the slightest movement and was semi-transparent, leaving little to John's imagination. Cameron followed John's gaze and looked down at her self, a sly smile touching her lips. As if in slow motion, Cameron glided over to John's bed and crawled over to him so that she was sitting sideways to his right. Their faces were barely a few inches apart, but neither made any overt movements, both were perfectly content with their current proximity.

Everything about this seemed all-too-perfect and John started to doubt the reality of the situation. So he raised a hand and gently pushed a thick lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and earning himself another beautiful smile.

"Am I dreaming?"

Cameron's smile widened as she ran her fingers down the side of his face affectionately.

"Does it matter?"

John's eyes drifted downward and he realised that, beneath the dress she wore nothing, her subtle curves just about visible beneath the white fabric. John closed his eyes in shame at his voyeurism and turned away, determined not to see her body, but Cameron drew his eyes back to hers and they just stared into each other for what seemed like an eternity for both. Slowly, and with the slightest hesitation, Cameron drew him closer and brushed her cheek against his, letting out a soft purr of content at his touch.

John leaned into her face, becoming intoxicated by the smell of her hair and the warmth of her skin. She was perfect and she was his. She would never leave him and she would never care for another. He was the centre of her universe and as he ran a hand through her silky hair, John knew she was the centre of his. Cameron drew her head back, her lips brushing across his face until settling on his lips. Their kiss was slow at first, but quickly deepened as their tongues caressed each others.

Their bliss came to an abrupt stop, however, as John pulled away in surprise and shock, pain spreading across his chest. He looked down to see two crimson stains on his shirt and gave a gasp of panic as the blood poured out of him.

"Cameron?"

But Cameron had changed, her white dress tattered and ruined, showing ripped flesh and metal beneath. All along the side of her face, her flesh was torn and peeling off, one of her eyes was also missing, revealing the glowing blue orb of her mechanical iris. John looked down to see that her legs were gone, only wires remained and what appeared to be battery fluid was leaking from her innards.

"You have to make a choice, John."

Her voice was cold and emotionless, lacking the warmth from before, causing John to shudder.

"This is what I am, at my core. Is this what you truly want? Or is it her?"

Cameron inclined her head to her right and John looked over her shoulder to see Riley standing there holding a Lego robot she'd made just for him. She had a radiant smile and her hair glowed like gold in the sunlight.

"You have to choose, John. Who will it be?"

John looked from Cameron's mangled face to Riley's unblemished features and was torn between the two, but given the circumstances the answer was obvious.

"Her… Riley. I choose Riley. I'm sorry, Cam."

"Sorry?!"

Cameron's face contorted in rage as she drove her fist into his chest and tore out his still-beating heart.

"Why should you be sorry?"

--

John awoke with a scream, his hand clutching his bandaged chest, feeling his heart beating frantically and let out a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, but the dream had rattled him more than a little and the vivid image of Cameron's mangled form kept flashing in his mind. After several long minutes and increasingly steadied breathing, John opened his eyes and examined the dark interior of the motel he'd been carried unconscious to.

It was dreary and cheap, but clean and lacking cockroaches, for which he was grateful. He at first believed himself to be alone, until a car passed by, its headlights lighting the entire room briefly, revealing Derek's presence in an arm chair to his left. Derek appeared to be watching John, a hand raised to his brow as if he were scrutinizing him in some way. John just stared back at him, uncertainty starting to creep into him.

"Derek, why are you looking at me like that?"

Derek lowered his hand and leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing visibly in the gloom.

"Seventeen."

"What?"

"That's how many times you spoke her name in your sleep."

John felt his cheeks start to redden and hoped that Derek couldn't see them in the dark.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

John refused to answer, afraid that anything he might say would only exacerbate the situation.

"Cos' I can't help but wonder why she would feature so much in your dreams."

"It was a nightmare."

"A nightmare, really? Do you grin like that in all your nightmares?"

John's jaw clenched at the breach of privacy.

"Screw you."

Derek smiled sardonically and leaned forward.

"Screw me? You and I both know you already have someone else in mind."

John launched himself towards his uncle but stopped short as his chest exploded in pain, causing him to collapse back onto his pillow.

"Yeah, try not to move. You did have two nails in your chest less than a few hours ago."

Derek stood up and circled the bed, pausing a moment to peer out of the window before settling into another chair on John's right.

"Where… where's Mom?"

"She and the Kid are next door."

"And Cameron, where is she?"

Derek's disgust for John's concern towards the machine was obvious to him and he did nothing to hide the revulsion in his voice.

"She's dead."

John didn't register it at first, but upon replaying Derek's words in his head, he felt his entire body go numb.

"You're lying."

Derek shook his head, a shadow of satisfaction in his features.

"No, it's the truth. She was blown to pieces along with the other one. She's gone."

"No, no you're… you're just messing with me. It can't be true."

"Deny it all you want, but that won't make it any less so. I saw the house explode. Nothing could've survived that."

John shook his head defiantly, unwilling to believe what he was hearing, but the more he thought on it, the more he remembered the explosion and the debris. It wasn't long before the truth finally sank in and John felt his entire body becoming hollow: Cameron was gone; he would never see her again, except maybe in the distant future. Derek simply watched as John stared in disbelief at the bed, as if he could see her sitting there, that innocent curiosity emanating from her beautiful eyes.

"_John?"_

John covered his ears and shut his eyes tight, desperately trying to blot out the memory that threatened to consume him from within.

"_John?"_

But her voice was all but impossible to ignore and a part of him let go, allowing the past to catch up with him.

--

"_John?"_

"_What? What do you want?"_

_John was sitting at the kitchen table of their old house, the one that burned down after Sarkissian's assault, and was trying to fix a broken motor coil. Cameron was standing by the sink, her head tilted to one side as she watched him struggle with the engine part. _

"_I just wanted to know something."_

_John sighed in frustration as he failed once again to reattach the coil._

"_Well, I'm kinda busy at the moment. Can't it wait?"_

"_No. It's important."_

_John sighed again and applied a little more force than was necessary to the coil, cutting his finger on a sharp edge as a result. A small gasp of pain escaped him and he dropped the part as blood flowed from the cut. Cameron approached his side and stared at the cut with her usual blank expression, except this time her features seemed to be softer than the norm._

"_You're damaged."_

_John could've sworn he detected the slightest flicker of concern in her voice and felt the overwhelming need to reassure her that he was okay._

"_It's nothing. It's just a cut. No biggy."_

_But Cameron was undeterred and quickly received the first aid kit from the cupboard, placing it on the table and extracting a plaster and cleaning wipes. She then took John's hand gently in hers and carefully examined the cut before wiping away the blood and cleaning it thoroughly. Once satisfied with her work, Cameron applied the plaster and smoothed the sticky parts, her finger tips brushing against his. She then abruptly let go of his hand and packed away the first kit, placing it back inside the cupboard._

_John examined his finger and couldn't help but smile at her masterful work. The pain had all but faded and the plaster was neither too tight nor too loose. He looked up to see Cameron watching him curiously as she finished what John had started on the engine part._

"_Thanks."_

"_You should be more careful in the future. If you get a cut that deep on your wrist you will bleed to death."_

_John glanced down at his wrists and pushed his chair back slightly, distancing himself from the engine part._

"_You know, a good old fashioned 'you're welcome' would've sufficed."_

_Cameron opened her mouth to reply but stopped her self and instead sat down opposite him. _

"_Can I ask you my question now?"_

_John rolled his eyes at her one track mindedness but felt that she deserved his cooperation._

"_Go on then, shoot."_

_Cameron's brows knitted together in confusion at his remark._

"_It's just an expression, Cameron. Ask me whatever you want to ask me."_

"_Thank you for explaining… Why do you act the way you do around me?"_

_John's mind went blank before finally registering that this was her question._

"_What? What do you mean, the way I act?"_

"_Your behaviour in my presence differs from the way you behave around others. Why is that?"_

_John looked away awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck as he searched for a non-committal way of answering her question._

"_Uhh, maybe it's because you are different from other people."_

_Cameron tilted her head to one side and her hand slide across the table inexplicably._

"_So… you treat me especially because of my being a machine?"_

"_Yeah, I guess you could say that."_

_John knew he was skating on thin ice and that the smallest slip up would land him in hot water._

"_Does that make me special then?"_

_John felt his ears burn and was determined not to look her in the eyes._

"_It makes you unique."_

_As soon as the word left his mouth, John started kicking himself mentally. As expected, Cameron caught onto the slip-up and regarded him closely._

"_Thank you. We have something in common then."_

_This time he couldn't help but meet her gaze and was startled by the way her eyes seemed to sparkle._

"_We are two of a kind, you and me."_

"_Yeah, fates entwined and all that."_

_Though John was being sarcastic, he should've known that she might not have seen it that way. Cameron smiled, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless and one he knew was reserved for him alone. John smiled back awkwardly, unsure as to how she might take it. _

"_What are we, John?"_

_The answer was obvious and it wasn't until this moment that he realised just how much._

"_Friends."_

--

Cameron dug her fingers into the grass and heaved her body through the bush, thankful that the sun had finally gone down, allowing her to move with a little more freedom. For the past few hours, Cameron had been crawling from place to place, searching for any sign of the Connors. But so far her efforts had proved fruitless as the last three locations offered no result. Regardless, Cameron wasn't to be put off by repeated failures and heaved her self further onwards, slowly and laboriously closing the distance between herself and John.

--

Jason ripped open his shirt and placed a hand over his stomach, the bleeding having stopped but the pain was harder to suppress in conjunction with the healing process. He might very well have been sick, had his stomach's contents not already vacated the premises. He placed a large patch over the wound and stretched it across his middle, covering the entry wound on his back. He'd experienced countless injuries in his life, but none so unexpected and blunt as having a girl's fist driven through his abdomen, until now that is.

Tomorrow he would resume his hunt for the Connors, but today he needed to focus on healing and recovering his lost strength. As his stomach gave another painful twinge, Jason realised that he must avoid confrontations with Terminators from now on. As resilient and adaptable as he was, Jason was still primarily organic and his body could only take so much damage before it stopped working. Though he had no worries about dying of disease or old age, his physiology allowing him to preserve his youth indefinitely so long as his heart kept beating, which could last far longer than the average human's.

In truth though, Jason wasn't entirely sure of the extent of his regenerative abilities. Could he grow back a limb? Unlikely. Could he survive an explosion? Definitely not. Could he repair vital organs? Quite possibly. Regardless, he'd have to re-evaluate his tactics when approaching the Connors, even with Cameron destroyed. Jason frowned at himself as a small flicker of regret passed through his mind at the thought of her death. The same flash of emotion that had almost stayed his hand from killing her in the future.

"What's wrong? Little demons eating your brain?"

Jason spun around, gun in hand, and fired three shots into Cameron's chest but the bullets passed straight through her and struck the wall behind. Cameron looked down at the yellow dress she was wearing and smoothed a crease.

"Tut-tut. You don't wanna spoil my nice new dress, now do you?"

Jason narrowed his eyes at her, taking note of her apparent lack of any kind of damage whatsoever. This made little sense, as did the fact that his bullets passed through her. Cautiously, Jason approached her and stretched a hand to touch Cameron's shoulder, recoiling when he felt her smooth skin. Jason fired another bullet at her head this time, but like before, it passed straight through. Cameron just laughed.

"How is this possible? Where did you come from? What are you?"

Cameron held up one hand and splayed three fingers.

"One: I don't quite know. Two: I'm not sure. And three: I am Cameron, 2nd Lieutenant of the Resistance, under the direct command of General John Connor. Does that answer your questions?"

Jason backed away a few steps, struggling to understand what was happening.

"I killed you. I snapped your neck and your body was incinerated. You can't be her. And you can't be the machine either; she was destroyed in the explosion. So who are you?"

Cameron sighed and took a few steps towards him, an unsettling smile on her lips.

"I've already told you; I'm Cameron. Isn't that enough?"

Jason picked up a broken radio and cracked it over Cameron's head. The radio passed through her as expected but his hand made solid contact with her forehead and he could feel the silky strands of her hair beneath his fingers. Completely baffled, Jason slowly withdrew his hand, staring at it in disbelief.

"This doesn't make any sense."

Cameron drew closer and tilted her head slightly.

"Oh sweetheart, nothing ever does."

--

The house was unremarkable, big and roomy but lacking any kind of style. _This will have to do_, Sarah thought as she explored the hallway. Not that she had much choice, having already promised to accept it, the price for not possessing the proper paperwork. Sarah assumed that the land owner was a shady character, hence his acceptability of her proposal, though this may be a good omen as the house was in a secluded area just outside of the main city. Close enough to visit and far enough to avoid the eyes of the law.

There were only three bedrooms and a small office room that would suffice for the Kid. A small kitchen, a large dining room, an cosy living room, and two bathrooms, one upstairs and another downstairs. The house also had a basement, which would be ideal for weapon storage and various other purposes. Satisfied with her purchase, Sarah returned to the car, where Derek, the Kid, and a sullen John were waiting with the owner.

"We'll take it."

The owner raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement and handed her the keys.

"That'll be forty-thousand, my love."

Sarah cringed slightly, and not just because of the price; she hated being referred to as "love" or "lady". Brushing aside her annoyance, Sarah paid the man his due and turned her attention to their new life of seclusion. Maybe things will be different this time, maybe they will be able to bring down Skynet without fear of reprisal.

--

John dumped his bag of belongings in the doorway and immediately dropped onto the bed, face down. He lay there for a moment before turning over and lying on his back instead, staring up at the dull grey ceiling. Life had gone from bad to worse to dire in the space of just a few days. The worst part was that he had no one to talk to about it all. There was his Mom, but she wouldn't understand. There was Derek, but he wouldn't care. And there was the Kid, but he wouldn't be of much help, though the loss of Cameron had upset him quite a bit.

John was alone, with no one to give him the stoic comfort he needed.

"JOHN!"

John closed his eyes, not much caring for whatever his mother wanted, but he got the nagging feeling that she wasn't going to take the hint any time soon.

"JOHN! STOP MOPING AND GET DOWN HERE, NOW!"

Sarah Connor, ever the sympathizer. John dragged himself out of bed and walked absent-mindedly towards the sound of his mother's voice. Downstairs he found her standing in the hallway, her arms crossed and her eyes narrow.

"Did you call anyone about our new house?"

"What? No."

"Then how do you explain this?"

Sarah stepped aside and John felt his entire world as it turned upside down, leaving him utterly clueless as to why and how Riley was standing there in front of him. She looked exactly as he remembered her, that blonde hair, that quirky smile, and her bizarre choice of clothes. For a moment, John thought she was a figment of his imagination, but the more he stared at her, the more he realised that she was all too real.

"How?"

"The owner is a friend of my folks. He mentioned that a family had bought this God-awful place without any questions. Sounded familiar: two adults, one teenage kid, and a smaller one, no mention of a girl though. Where is Cameron, anyway?"

John hung his head, not wanting to reply to the question. Sarah glanced from her son to the girl.

"Cameron was in an accident… she's dead."

Riley's face fell.

"I'm so sorry."

She approached John but he drew away from her, not wanting to come into any contact with her. Sarah stood between the two, for which he was grateful.

"Listen to me, you need to go. Get away from us while you have a chance and don't ever look back. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah, but c'mon… look at him!"

Sarah glanced over her shoulder to see John sitting on the bottom step, his face buried in his hands and his shoulders shaking.

"He needs a friend right now. Please, let me help him."

Sarah felt her heart clench at the sight of her son in such a state, but her resolve still remained.

"You have to go."

Riley shook her head and brushed past Sarah and crouched next to John, placing her hands on his and slowly prying them apart.

"Shhh, shhh, John it's me. John, c'mon let's get you upstairs. C'mon."

John hadn't the will to resist and simply allowed himself to be guided up the steps, leaving his incredulous mother behind. Riley escorted him into his room and helped him onto his bed, sitting beside him. John stared at the floor, silent tears running down his face and splashing on the floor, creating a tiny puddle. They sat there for several torturous minutes, neither inclined to speak to the other until John sought an answer to a simple question.

"Why are you here?"

Riley took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I missed you."

"But you left. You found out who I was and what I will become and you ran."

"I was scared. But I've had a lot of time to think since then. I wanna help you with all of this; I wanna help you through it all. I wanna be your friend."

John pulled his hand free of hers and glared at the floor, his face growing dark.

"I had a friend."

"She was your sister. Sisters aren't ever friends. Their purpose in life is to challenge you at every turn."

John looked up at her incredulously and stood up, keeping his back to her.

"She was more than that."

Riley also got to her feet and approached him cautiously.

"What was she then?"

"She was… she was… She just was. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

Riley snaked her hands across his middle and rested her head on his shoulder, an embrace that was both comforting and unwanted at the same time. John pulled away from her and strode out of his room and straight into the bathroom, locking himself away from everyone. Riley stood outside and raised a hand, poised to knock on the door, but decided to leave him be. Inside, John fumbled for his phone and instinctively dialled the first number on his speed dial. The phone rang and rang until finally he heard her voice.

"_Hello, you have tried to call me, but I am unable to answer at this present time. Call back at a later time and I might be available to answer your call."_

The recording was soothing and reminded him of times past. Though he knew it to be pointless, John decided to leave a message.

"Cameron, I uh… I just wanted to…"

John collapsed onto the side of the bath tub and took a moment to try and regain his composure before continuing.

"I… I miss you, Cam. And I wish… I wish you were here… I'm sorry I wasted all of our time with my… I should never have ignored you the way I did… I wish to God I hadn't… Cameron…"

Riley stood with her ear pressed to the door, listening to his every word, her eyes slowly brimming with tears of her own.

"Please come back to me…"

--

"Are you going to sit there and ignore me all day?"

Jason raised the glass to his lips and took a sip, his mind lost in thoughts and diagnostics, searching desperately for some answer to this madness. Cameron sat upon a table, her bare legs crossed together and swinging back and forth.

"You can't ignore me forever."

Jason closed his eyes and let out a steadying breath.

"You're not real. If I pay you no attention you will just fade away."

Cameron chuckled and hopped off the table.

"What? Ignore me and hope I go away? Come on, Jason. You know that'll never work."

She stalked towards him and crouched down to the side of his armchair, folding her arms on it and resting her head on top of them.

"You can't keep fooling yourself into thinking that I'm not real."

"But you are not real. I have since come to the conclusion that you are a part of my subconscious playing itself out. No doubt a result of the trauma I suffered as a result of being shot in the head. You are just a figment of my imagination."

Cameron smiled and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"If that is the case, then why would this 'figment' take the form of little old me? Something repressed maybe?"

Jason turned to face her; she was so close that he almost brushed her lips with the brim of his nose.

"I have no skeletons in my closet. So you might as well quit while you're ahead."

Cameron smiled even wider and stroked his left cheek affectionately.

"Sorry darling, I'm not going anywhere."

--

Cameron felt a strange vibration coming from just above her pelvis and ceased her exertions to investigate, finding her battered and barely functional phone in her jean pocket. She rolled onto her side and opened the phone, but it had since stopped ringing. Regardless, she held it to her ear and pressed the message button, in case whoever called had left a message, which they did. John's voice was hoarse and almost indistinguishable, but she recognized it instantly and listened intently as he poured his heart out to her. Cameron felt something stir inside of her, something she had never felt before: sorrow.

A single tear ran down the side of her face and into the grass as she found herself weeping at John's words, her entire body, what was left of it anyway, starting to shake.

"_Please come back to me…"_

Then the message ended, leaving Cameron adrift in mixed confusion. She had never felt such raw emotion before and it intimidated and fascinated her at the same time. But it also gave her resolve and determination. Cameron replayed the message and traced its source to a location outside the city, an ability that had carried over from her brief stint inside the ARTIE system last year. With his location confirmed, Cameron began the slow crawl back to her friend's side.

"I'm coming back, John, l promise. I'm coming back."

--

Riley opened the bathroom door and peered inside; afraid that John might've taken a razor to his wrist or something along those lines. At first it seemed that he had somehow vacated the room, until she spotted him crouched in the bath tub, opening and closing his phone repetitively. She sat on the bath edge and gave him a weak smile, which had zero effect.

"You gonna be okay?"

John snorted and glared at her.

"If that isn't the world's stupidest question, I don't know what is."

"I'm sorry. I just… I've never, you know. This kind of thing has never happened to me before. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or say or whatever. I'm kinda playing it by ear at the moment."

"Trial and error, tell me about it."

Riley beamed down at him and gave him a light punch on the shoulder.

"There we go, there's that cynical 'moodster' I know and love."

John stared at her for a long moment, her comment digging deep beneath his skin.

"C'mon, gloomy, take me for a walk. Let's see these crazy hills."

"It's two in the morning."

"So?"

John sighed, the tiniest flicker of amusement breaching his misery.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. Take your mind off things. What do you say?"

--

The truck pulled over so that its driver could relieve himself in a bush. Cameron crept out from under the dustsheet and dropped to the floor with a heavy thud before righting herself and beginning the considerably shortened crawl through the dirt. As the man let out a satisfied sigh of relief, Cameron reached the side of the road and spotted an open field a mile away with a single house nestled almost invisibly amongst the trees. Confirming this as the only house within a mile radius, Cameron marked it as her destination and pushed her self over the roadside, making herself roll down the hill haphazardly.

It wasn't strictly conventional but it would save a lot of time in the long run and Cameron's power cell was currently having trouble compensating for the extraordinary exertions that it was required to provide energy for. So Cameron was content to allow herself to bounce off of trees and roll through a bog or two for the sake of reaching her destination sooner rather than later.

--

Jason tensed, the clip halfway inside the gun, as his implants alerted him to a cell frequency originating from a secluded spot outside the city. He smiled in anticipation at having located his target and slid the clip into the gun, cocking the weapon and tucking it in his belt. Cameron slid her hand across his waist, resting on the gun, but he snatched it away and pushed her aside. She responded with a tinkering laugh and playfully pushed him back.

"If I wasn't real, then how could I do that, hmm?"

"The shock damage was more potent than I initially thought. My neural net interface has been compromised, that's how you can 'affect' me. My body is reacting as if you were actually real. But I know you're not."

"So what's the difference?"

Jason brushed past her and gathered his coat, ready to finish what he'd started. Cameron leaned against the door frame and held up his keys.

"Won't you be needing these."

Although he knew that she couldn't possibly be holding the real keys, Jason still held out his hands for them, to prove to himself that she was just imaginary. Cameron held the keys behind her and started to swing her hips playfully.

"You want them, come and get them."

Despite himself, Jason smirked and advanced on Cameron, reaching behind her and taking the surprisingly real keys from her petite hands. She simply smiled in an "I told you so" kind of way as he examined the keys, dropping them on the floor and picking them up again to make sure.

"None of this makes any sense, but it won't stop me from completing my mission. So if that is why you're hanging around, to convince me to spare your boyfriend, then you might as well leave now."

Cameron sighed and smoothed down the front of Jason's jacket.

"Oh Jason, that's not why I'm here at all."

"No? Then why are you here."

Cameron looked up into his eyes, her eyebrows rising slightly.

"I'm here for you. I'm here to make sure."

"Make sure of what?"

"That you don't ever escape the truth of what you've done."

A single, bloodied tear escaped her eye and ran down her smooth cheek. Jason gathered it on his finger and rubbed the tear between his fingers as comprehension finally dawned on him.

"Oh, so it is you after all."

Cameron's smile betrayed her devious intent.

"I'm really screwed, aren't I?"

"Yes, you really are."

--

The sky was clear with not a cloud in sight. Riley stared up at the stars, enraptured by the many dots and patterns, occasionally pointing out shapes that John could never see. He lay there beside her, not looking at the stars, but staring into the darkness in which they existed. For Riley, nothing had really changed between them; they were back to their old selves, wasting time gazing at the immaterial. John, on the other hand, was fighting a battle of indecision.

Riley was exactly what he needed in this moment; a friend he could confide in and help him forget. But on the flipside, he never wanted to forget and his very presence posed a risk to her safety, and John couldn't handle getting another person killed. So it really boiled down to one of two choices: accept Riley's offer for comfort and risk losing her too, or decline and resolve himself to wallowing in lost memories of the cyborg he had come to adore.

John sighed at the predicament, as neither held much hope for him in the long run. Riley rolled over onto her side and started to twirl a strand of her hair around her finger as she looked down at John's blank face.

"Hey. You alive in there?"

"Just about."

Riley watched him for a few more moments before checking her watch, discovering it to be three in the morning.

"Wow, time really flies, huh?"

"Yeah."

"So err, I guess I'm gonna head back home. Unless… unless you want me to stay."

John blinked for what seemed like the first time in hours.

"I want you to stay…"

A smile crept onto Riley's face.

"…but you can't."

Her face fell and she pinched him lightly.

"Why not? If it's because of your mother…"

"No. No, that's not it. You can't know me, Riley. You just can't. It's too dangerous, for both of us."

"I don't care about the danger."

John looked away, not wanting to add her look of disappointment to his already overburdened conscience.

"You should. That kind of danger is what took Cameron away from me. I can't let it take you too."

"That's not your decision to make."

John forced himself to sit up, Riley following suite.

"It is mine and I've already made it. Go."

"No… not without a fight."

"Riley…"

But his words were silenced by her kiss, a deep and long affection that only added to John's guilt as unbidden memories of Cameron flashed in his mind. John pulled away and stood up, putting several feet between them. Riley also got to her feet and walked around him, her expression desperate.

"Don't let this, what we have, go to waste. We can be happy, you and I, if you'll just let me in. Please, John."

John looked down at the floor and shook his head defiantly.

"We can't. I'm sorry, Riley. But you have to go. Go and never look back. Find someone else, someone who doesn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"But I don't want anyone else. I want you!"

"You can't have me."

Riley stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief at his refusal.

"Please."

John couldn't have shown any emotion even if he wanted to; his face had become set like stone, harsh and resolute. Riley knew that no matter what she might say or do, John would never give. He wanted to protect her, and nothing could break his resolve.

"Goodbye Riley."

Riley's lip trembled as tears fell down her cheeks. She pulled John into a hug and held him tight, planting a wet kiss on his brow, a final goodbye between friends.

"Goodbye John."

She then let go of him and gave John one last smile, which he managed to reciprocate with one of his own before she turned back and strode off across the hill, slowly fading into the distance. John let out a shuddering breath and felt like he was going to be sick as he forced his legs to carry him back in the direction of the house. He had done it. He'd made the choice. He'd chosen Cameron.

A rustling sound reached John's ears and he tensed, his eyes scanning the tree line for any signs of movement. A large clump of bushes shuddered and John drew his 9mm that he'd taken to carrying wherever he went nowadays. He pulled back the hammer and aimed for the bush, ready to either scrape the skull of a machine or to blast the brains out of an unfortunate raccoon. The bush shook violently and a strange figure emerged from its depths and crawled across the grass before becoming inert.

John slowly approached the strange figure and upon closer inspection, he realised that it was a human torso with its legs strapped to its back. Cautiously, John placed his boot underneath the body and slowly turned it over, his heart stopping when he saw its face. Cameron looked terrible, her hair, skin, and clothes were filthy. Her finger nails were cracked and filled with dirt and bits of grass, the skin on her palms was raw and bleeding as a result of constant crawling. But she was still Cameron, and John almost laughed with joy.

Her eyelids flittered and opened slowly, revealing those brown eyes that he'd come to call beautiful.

"John?"

Her voice was hoarse and sounded exactly how she looked; rough and tired. John dropped to his knees and carefully cradled her head in his lap, tears of joy splashing on her muddy face.

"Hey, I thought I lost you."

"I know. I got your message… tracked it here… I found you."

John laughed, praising her genius adaptability.

"Yeah, you did at that. But Cameron… your legs… I…"

"The explosion… I'm still functional though…"

"But you sound a little… Something's wrong, isn't it."

Cameron blinked slowly as a faint whirring sound came from somewhere in her endoskeleton.

"I'm losing power… John, you have to… You have to…"

"What? What? What must I do, Cameron, stay with me?"

Cameron smiled weakly and took his hand in hers.

"You have to read me a bedtime story."

John frowned in confusion, but she continued to smile as her eyes closed and the whirring came to a soft stop. John tapped her lightly, receiving no response.

"Cameron?"

He shook her, but again received no indication of life. John's heart, which was already bordering on cardiac arrest, was now going into overdrive as one thought rose above all others: get her home. With strength he wasn't aware he possessed, John scooped her in his arms and staggered to his feet, taking a moment to get his balance before slowly carrying her back to the safety of the house.

"Hang in there, Cameron. I'm gonna get you home. I promise."

_To be continued…_


	10. Survival

**Chapter Ten: Survival**

Blood

It gathered and gurgled in his mouth as he tried to voice the overwhelming hatred he felt for the boy who killed him. But the power of speech was lost to him and everything was slowly turning to darkness. Jason's neural net was practically screaming his condition at him, alerting him to the inevitable as he felt his body slide a little further down the exposed shaft. The metal pole had punctured his back at a perfect angle that carried it straight through his heart, ending what should have been a long and successful life.

The organic-metallic claws withdrew back into his fingers as his muscles began to relax into atrophy, along with the rest of his body, despite the best efforts of his implants. Jason let out one last shuddering breath before closing his eyes and succumbing to death's calling. A petite brown eyed young woman approached the body and ran her small fingers over his face, a faint smile on her lips as she leaned close to his ear and whispered ever so softly:

"You're not getting out of it that easily, darling."

--

48 hours earlier

It wasn't the first time the Kid had had trouble sleeping, but that didn't make it any less frustrating for the youth, especially considering everything he had been through these past days. The nightmares alone kept him awake half the time, but it wasn't the fault of any ghostly haunting that awoke him this night, but the urgent whispering of all-too-familiar voices. At first he tried to bury his head in his pillow, but to no avail, their words kept catching his attention.

Seeing this as futile, the Kid let out a sigh and forced his protesting body out of the comforts of his bed and staggered, bleary eyed, to the source of the voices. As he approached John's room, the Kid finally deciphered what he was hearing.

"How the hell can you be sure? I say we remove her chip, just in case!"

"No! She's fine, she just… she just needs time for her energy cells to recharge."

"Derek has a point, John. How do we know she's really safe? Remember the last time she was in an explosion?"

The Kid couldn't quite understand what they were talking about, but his questions were answered when he peered around the door and saw John, Sarah, and Derek gathered around John's bed. Cameron was lying on it and she looked a terrible mess, it took the Kid a moment before realising that her legs were missing, causing him to inhale sharply. With those eerily sharp ears of hers, Sarah glanced over her shoulder and frowned at the boy.

"Go back to bed."

"W-What's happened to Cameron? Is she going to be alright?"

Sarah's glare softened a little and she came over and crouched down to his level.

"I don't know. We'll let you know in the morning, okay?"

Taking the hint, the Kid nodded silently and left the room, his mind filled with images of severed limbs and machine innards. Satisfied that the Kid was in his room, Sarah closed the door and returned her attention to the matter at hand.

"Tell me again, what happened, John."

John let out an exhausted sigh and rubbed his hand over his eyes, desperately fighting the urge to drop off to sleep.

"I was saying goodbye to Riley when she suddenly came crawling out of a bush. She must have crawled all the way here from our old place."

"How could she have found us?"

"She said she tracked a phone call to this location."

A small smile of admiration formed on his lips as he gazed down at her filthy, but forever beautiful face. Sarah caught the expression and narrowed her eyes at her son, hoping that her new-found fears had no basis. Brushing this thought aside, Sarah peered down at Cameron's damaged legs, which looked like she'd literally ripped them from her upper body, little knowing that this was actually the case. Derek was very shifty, his face showing something between pure resentment and incredulity at the machine's survival.

"We have to be sure, John. Take out her chip."

"I already told you; no!"

John's voice was just short of a violent growl, the likes of which made Sarah's skin crawl and Derek's eyes flash in surprise. Knowing that an argument was imminent, Sarah decided to deescalate the situation before the fireworks started flying every which a way.

"Did she say anything else?"

John half-turned his head in recognition of her query, but kept his eyes on Cameron.

"She told me she was losing power and that I had to…"

_No_, he thought, _that one is mine to keep_.

"What, John? She told you to what?"

"Nothing, she just said to let her rest and recharge. She's fine!"

Sarah did not cringe that time, as the last part was directed at Derek, who snorted before getting to his feet and leaving the room without another word. John watched him go with narrowed eyes.

"We can't let him do this again, mom. I am so sick of him second guessing my decisions."

Sarah allowed herself a smile and crossed her arms.

"Well, you'll be big enough to kick his ass soon enough, so I wouldn't worry about it."

John gave a short chuckle, turning his attention back to Cameron and picking up a wet rag, which he then used to clean her face. Sarah watched him for several minutes as he carefully scrubbed away the worst of the dirt, revealing a Cameron he could recognise at first site.

"Do you want me to set up the couch downstairs, seeing as she's commandeered your bed for the time being?"

"Uh, no it's okay; I don't feel like sleeping at the moment. Too much going on inside here, you know."

John tapped his head and continued his work, this time moving down her neck and removing the grime and dirt that had gathered there.

"John, I can see it from here."

"See what?"

"The pandas beneath your eyes, take a rest before you drop."

John shook his head and squeezed the rag, releasing a stream of dirty water into the tub before taking one of her hands and starting on it.

"What happened with Riley?"

"I told you; she went home."

"And will she be returning any time soon?"

John paused for a moment before continuing.

"No, I convinced her to stay away, for her own good."

Sarah nodded slowly and reached behind her for the door handle, but didn't want to leave until she'd gotten something off of her chest.

"John, the way you protect her, I-"

"You told me to make her understand. You told me to make her leave, and I did."

"You know who I'm talking about."

John sighed and dropped the rag in the tub, turning to face his mother, his face full of blank resolve.

"I'm not in love with her, mom. She's a machine, I know that. You don't have to keep reminding me every day."

"John-"

"But I still care about her. She saved my life a dozen times over. I trust her, more than I trust myself. A few glitches aside, she's been nothing but loyal. So give it a rest, okay."

Sarah opened her mouth to protest, but saw it as hopeless, so she simply nodded in agreement.

"I'll leave you two alone then. Just don't talk too loud, some of us do need to sleep, you know."

John snorted and picked up the rag to resume his cleaning of Cameron.

"Don't worry; I don't think she's feeling very talkative at the moment."

Sarah left, closing the door behind her, leaving John alone with a motionless Cameron. John stared at her for a long moment, mulling over his previous statement, unable to determine whether or not what he'd said was actually true. Not wanting to bother himself with it, however, John simply smiled and wiped the side of her face, happy that she'd returned to him. As he applied a gentle amount of pressure to her cheek in an attempt to remove a rather thick patch of dirt, Cameron suddenly twitched and a deep whirring sound came from deep within her skull.

Her eyes flickered and slowly opened, flashing blue for the briefest of seconds before returning to their usual chocolate brown. John couldn't help but beam down at her as she blinked innocently, a look of what he could only describe as fatigue on her elegant features.

"Hey, how're you doing? You okay?"

Cameron blinked twice more before shifting her head slightly and peering down at her body.

"Power has been rerouted to my cranial systems, but the rest of me is still offline. It will be a while before my cells recharge to a hundred percent capacity."

She sounded as tired as she looked, surprising John, who never imagined that machines could ever become tired.

"Well, you have been through a lot, obviously. How long until you're back to full strength or power or whatever?"

"Approximately fifty hours of recharge time is required before I can safely distribute power to my other functions."

"So a while then, in other words. Is there anything you need?"

Even though she was lying with her head on a squishy pillow, Cameron was still able to tilt her head slightly to one side.

"I need tools, an arc welder, and other related items. I'll write a list. Once I'm fully functional again I can reattach my legs."

John found himself looking across the bed at the legs that he'd deposited on his desk, despite spending the past hour trying to ignore them. He couldn't bear imagining how they ended up separate from her body in the first place. As if she could hear his thoughts, Cameron tilted her head the other way, catching his eye.

"I was trapped. I had to perform an emergency detachment in order to escape the house before it exploded. I was on the porch when the gas was lit; my legs somehow joined me in the back garden."

"What? How come they survived?"

If she had power in her shoulders, she would've shrugged, but instead compensated by raising her eyebrows instead.

"Statistically speaking, they should have been obliterated… Maybe God did it."

John had to do replay her words in his mind a dozen times in quick succession before he could be sure of what he'd heard.

"Since when do you believe in God?"

"I… she used to… before she died."

John nodded silently as comprehension dawned on him.

"You mean the human you're based on."

"She was a devout believer. I remember; she used to pray for you whenever you went on a mission. Pray you'd come back to her… to me."

John felt that he should say something, anything, but found no words to express the gratitude he was feeling towards Cameron in this moment. Instead, he just raised the rag and carefully wiped her other cheek. Cameron watched him for a long moment as he tended to her hygiene, and wondered why he was being so gentle with her.

"You will be able to remove the dirt more efficiently if you apply more pressure to my skin."

John blushed and his hands shook for a second before he reapplied the cloth and, despite her suggestions, continued to press down with as little pressure as possible. Cameron's brow knitted together in confusion at John's behaviour.

"Are you afraid of hurting me, John?"

"I just ah, if I press down too hard you'll ah, you'll get red marks all over your face. Makes it harder for me to see what I'm doing."

Cameron could see the logic behind this, but she was too perceptive to believe that was his only excuse for being passive towards her. Before she could question him further, however, a red warning flashed in her peripheral, demanding the need for a shutdown to conserve power. John could sense that something was on her mind and he ceased his cleaning, afraid that he was distracting her from whatever she was thinking about.

"Something wrong?"

Her eyes, which had been staring past him a moment ago, now snapped back to his with full attention.

"I need to re-enter standby mode for a few hours."

John's face fell a little but he quickly recovered with a swift smile.

"Sure, you go ahead and rest."

"Will you stay with me while I sleep?"

John was taken aback by her request, but was not so surprised that he didn't have an immediate answer for her.

"Of course I will."

Cameron gave him a weary smile, her eyes glittering before closing, that familiar whirring sound signifying her return to slumber-land. John smiled to himself as he imagined her counting wind-up sheep and wondered if machines could ever dream. The answer, though he had yet to learn this, was "yes". Though Cameron's dreams were simply random memories of her human template; replaying themselves over and over without rhyme or reason.

--

"Deep breaths, kitten. Everything's going to be fine."

Jason coughed out the last of the water and snatched the towel from Cameron's hands in pure frustration; his plan to induce a near-death kick start with his implants had failed utterly. Apparently, drowning himself wasn't going to be the answer to his problems. _Maybe I should try an electric shock_, he mused. Cameron leaned against the sink and smiled that infuriating smile at him, making him even more likely to almost kill himself again.

"You're not good for your own health, you know."

Jason dried his face on the towel before tossing it at her; she simply let it slide to the floor and laughed.

"Ah, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you angry."

"Yes you did."

Cameron put on a fake pout and gave him the lost puppy look.

"Well, you know what they say; if I'm mean to you, its cos' I care."

Jason rolled his eyes and decided that attempt No. 7 would have to wait until after he'd killed John Connor. Knowing that he'd have to put up with his subconscious projections for a while longer, Jason let out a deep sigh as he took up his 9mm and pulled back the hammer, loading a bullet into the chamber. As distracting as this imaginary Cameron was, Jason was determined not to let her get between himself and his mission: terminate John Connor.

"What? Not speaking to me anymore?"

Jason gave her a withering look before tucking the gun in his belt, safety on. For reasons he couldn't quite fathom, Cameron was wearing a yellow dress and had been ever since she first manifested. This was odd, as Jason could not recall ever seeing her in a dress before, and all delusionary visions were based upon past observation. Shrugging this thought aside, Jason gathered his jacket and spare clips before striding to the door, his imaginary Cameron two steps behind him.

"You won't kill him, you know."

Jason didn't bother locking the apartment door, he hadn't the keys anyway and the owner was unconscious and locked inside a cupboard. So he simple strode down the corridor and called the elevator to his level, Cameron eyeing the peeling wallpaper with mild interest. Just as he remembered her in the future; Cameron possessed inquisitiveness towards the mundane. As he awaited the elevator's arrival, Jason began to wonder why he was unable to come to terms with his past.

"You'll aim for his heart and you will hesitate, just like you did with me, remember?"

It wasn't his first mission after all, nor was it in any way his first kill. When he was physically thirteen, Jason was sent into a cell with a human female of the same age, with the objective of seducing her. This was a standard training regime used by Skynet, with the purpose of teaching its I-950s the value of using sex as a weapon. Of course, Jason found that his crèche sisters were more likely to use such a tactic in their missions. Nevertheless, he performed his duty and the girl found comfort in him before he throttled her to death afterwards, upon Skynet's behest.

Though he felt nothing for the girl and their "encounter" served only to educate him further, Jason did recall feeling a twinge of what he would later identify as regret. At the time, he only felt a curious sensation that prompted him to tenderly close her eyes in respect. If Skynet was aware of his feelings it either failed to see the significance or simply didn't care. Amongst his brothers and sisters, Jason was always favoured by their creator and as such, he was allowed certain liberties that Skynet would deny the others.

"You're not a murderer."

Not true. He had killed many, and most were not purely out of self-defence. He had been selected, hand-picked by Skynet for the task of infiltrating Connor's high command and assassinating the Saviour's lover. It took him almost a year to get close enough and high enough among the ranks to be able to meet with Cameron in person, as she was always at Connor's side. She was almost always protected by two or three armed guards, making any overt assassination attempts void of success.

"You didn't have a choice."

He got to know her quite well, slowly establishing the roots he'd need to get close enough to kill her discreetly. What he hadn't counted on was her overwhelming personality, her wide smile that was more than capable of breaking the barriers of any cyborg's heart. He often enjoyed the company of humans, but all the while he knew what his mission was, and he was able to maintain that clarity. But there was something about Cameron that just distorted everything. Nothing in his training could've prepared himself for it. That little word:

Friend

That was what they'd become, but the mission was all that really mattered in the end, and Jason had to obey his creator.

"You can still turn back. You can help save this beautiful world."

Not his world. Never has been. He was a guest in this time, an unwelcome visitor who gate crashed upon another person's party. He didn't belong here; this wasn't the place for him. He wasn't human. He wasn't machine. Not even he himself could say what he was. There are moments in one's life where that person is forced to accept a painful truth, and a fall from grace was sure to follow. Jason was losing control of his emotions. _To lose oneself to emotion is death_, so said his mother/father.

"What place do you think Skynet will have for you in the future? If Skynet wins, what use will you have, with no enemy to infiltrate?"

None. Skynet would have no use for organics after the human's total annihilation. He was doomed to be shuffled off like any outdated model, except he wasn't just some mindless T-600; he was alive and could feel that life around him. Skynet knows this and it wouldn't just seal him up in a box somewhere, it would terminate him. End his life. End everything.

"You know as well as I…"

The elevator trundled to a halt and the door opened. Jason stepped inside and pressed the button for the ground floor, staring at Cameron as she stood in the hallway, a sad smile on her face.

"…everything that has a beginning…"

The doors shuddered for a moment before rattling to a close, slowly cutting Cameron from view.

"…has an end."

--

"Okay, how about this? Can you feel that?"

John ran a finger across her shoulder, helping Cameron to re-establish feeling in her upper body. She seemed undecided, so he placed two fingers and pressed down a little harder. Cameron made a sudden reflexive movement and her eyes widened by a fraction.

"I can feel that. Try the other side."

John removed his fingers and relocated them on her left side, once again pressing down as he ran them along her collar. Cameron took a moment before nodding in confirmation that feeling had returned to her body from the shoulders and above. John ceased his rubbing and placed his hands together in his lap, a small sliver of guilt worming into his mind. Though she had requested that he perform the tests, John couldn't deny that doing so was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

"The rest of my body should start to reassert itself in a matter of minutes, now that it has been adequately stimulated."

John felt his cheeks flush and had to look away in embarrassment. Cameron had a habit of making him feel like a complete and utter pervert, even though, in all fairness, he wasn't. Regardless, Cameron took note of his awkwardness and reached out to touch his face; placing two fingers under his chin and making him face her again.

"I've made you uncomfortable. I'm sorry."

John shook his head and looked down at the mattress, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"You certainly make a habit of doing that."

Cameron, though she was unsure as to why, started to stroke the side of his face affectionately. She soon realised that her human memories were starting to influence her behaviour and feelings towards John. Cameron had never before felt so close to anyone than she did in this moment, and a part of her felt as if she was not doing enough to show her appreciation. So she gently pulled John closer and allowed their lips to meet.

Like before, the kiss was warm and soft, sending strange sensations through her body. John did not recoil this time, however, and both became lost in the moment as they enjoyed each other's affections. John's hand explored her hair, and it was not until his fingers came into contact with something moist and sludgy did he remember that Cameron had just crawled through a bog. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and investigated the muck on his hand.

"Urgh! Trust you to crawl through the swamp instead of going around it."

"I chose a faster route over a slower one. I was losing power."

John picked up a tissue and cleaned his hand, smiling despite her off-putting condition. Cameron seemed indifferent about her current state and reached out to pull him back, but he moved away from her grasp, upsetting her slightly with his rejection.

"Do you find me repulsive?"

"No! No, I just… you're covered head to fo-… head to waist in everything from dirt to God only knows what. I'm not even sure if that's mud or not."

Cameron looked down at the stain on her jacket that John was currently pointing at.

"Engine grease."

John raised his eyebrows questioningly and Cameron placed a hand over the stain before answering.

"I hitched a ride on the underside of a truck."

"Now you see, that means you've probably sampled every kind of filth in the entire city by now."

"I could wash it off if you like, but you'll need to help me into the bathroom and remove my clothes for me."

John felt like someone had just poured boiling water into his face and had to look away again as a dozen scenarios played out in his mind. Cameron spotted the tell-tale signs that she had made him uncomfortable again and reminded herself to think twice before mentioning such things to John.

"Maybe you should just stick to using the wet wipes for now. Once you get your legs fixed, you can have a shower or something."

"Yes, I will do that then. What time is it?"

"Eh? Aren't I the one who always asks you that?"

Cameron called up her chronometer, but since escaping the house explosion, it had been out of synch by a couple of hours. Seeing that she was being serious, John glanced at his watch.

"The time is twelve twenty-two in the afternoon."

"Is your watch accurate?"

John showed it to her and she adjusted her chronometer to match the time exactly, even down to the milliseconds.

"Thank you. I'm going to rest now."

"Again? But I thought you were finished with the whole recharge thing."

John was obviously disappointed at her pending absence, and she wondered just what he was like during the brief time that she was presumed dead. Was he lonely? Did he miss her? And if he did, what does that imply?

"I recharge faster in standby mode. Whenever I reactivate, it slows the process."

"Then why do you do it? Come back, I mean. Why don't you just stay offline until you're all powered up again?"

Cameron smiled faintly as she began shutting down her systems.

"Why wouldn't I?"

--

It was a smallish house, alone in a field, quietly nestled amongst the trees. _Like something out of a postcard_, he mused. Jason adjusted his sight to magnify twice over, allowing him to see signs of movement outside the house, even from two miles away. He could see a man loading what looked like a .50 calibre weapon, either sniper or plain rifle, Jason couldn't quite tell at this range. If it were the former then he would consider being a little more careful whilst approaching.

Jason scanned the perimeter and began formulating three separate plans of entry when he suddenly realised that offensive action against the Connors would likely end in his death. Jason had no desire to die, even if it meant the completion of his mission. He thought this odd, as he was previously willing to jump on an explosive to save his creator, but now he would shield himself instead. Jason gave a mental shrug at the thought, blaming it on his twitchy implants and Cameron's mind games.

Though the latter had yet to reappear to him since leaving the apartment, allowing Jason to convince himself that his hallucinations were a result of the building's dodgy water filtering system. Putting that aside, Jason returned his attention to the matter at hand and decided that attacking the Connors was not his only option. In truth, he could find a dozen methods of killing John, but the thought of laying some intricate plan only for it to fall apart wearied Jason.

So he decided to simplify matters and flipped his phone open, into which he dialled John's number. A few seconds passed before the line was picked up and the voice of Jason's target called out on the other end.

"_Riley, I told you not to-"_

"Hello, Johnny boy."

John went silent as Jason revelled in his obvious confusion and fear.

"_Jason?"_

"Bingo. How's it going there, bud?"

"_What are you…? What do you want? Why are you calling me?"_

"Oh, you know, just keeping in touch with old friends."

"_I can hardly call you a friend. You tried to kill me."_

"It's all in good fun. C'mon, Johnny, don't tell me it wasn't exciting running for your life."

"_Oh yeah, I really got a kick out of having two nails embedded in my chest. How about you? Your stomach healed yet?"_

Jason chuckled as he tapped his fully regenerated abdomen.

"I'm good as new, thank you. So, I was thinking; you wanna hang out?"

"_You're kidding me, right?"_

"Not at all, I actually rather enjoy your company."

"_Yeah, I'll bet. Here's an idea; how about you tell me where you are and I can send Cameron in my place. I'm sure she'd love to have another poke at you."_

Jason's heart skipped a beat as John's words struck him. He took a moment to replay what he'd heard, checking John's voice for any sign of falsehood, finding none.

"_You still there?"_

Jason brushed the dozen questions and mixed feelings aside with sheer force of will.

"So, our little friend survived then. Good for her, I suppose. But she won't be able to protect you this time."

"_Wanna bet. Just name the place and we'll be there. I'm sick of running."_

Jason found John's attitude to be not far off his current mindset and therefore knew, with smug satisfaction, that John would be foolish enough to fall into any situation unprepared. This would be his chance.

"Likewise. You can find me at the old gallery, four blocks from your old place. Sound familiar?"

"_I remember it. I'll be there in two hours."_

"I look forward to it."

John hung up, leaving Jason to wonder whether or not he might actually show up. Though he had been monitoring John's voice patterns, listening for any sign of sincerity, Jason knew that any confrontation now would have to be direct. He didn't have time to fix an explosive trap; all he could do is keep John from escaping, which would have to be enough. He needed to take care of one thing first though, something that he would regret not doing should he fail in his mission.

--

John hung up and held the phone to his mouth as the full weight of what he'd committed himself to hit him. Jason had had the audacity to call John and ask him to come out so that he could kill him. _Maybe he's running out of ideas_, he mused. John tapped the phone distractedly for a few seconds as his mind worked in overdrive, quickly formulating a plan. First things first; his mother mustn't find out. Easily done, he can just tell her he's going into the city. But then again, she would insist on sending Derek along with him.

In retrospect, this wouldn't be such a bad idea. John had to be brutally honest with himself, he wouldn't stand a chance alone, Jason would kill him for sure. Bringing Derek, on the other hand, would even the score. Plus, his psychotic uncle would not have any qualms in doing this beneath Sarah's notice. The problem would be Cameron. He'd need to get some things from his room and he could guarantee that she will realise what he had planned.

_One thing at a time_, he reminded himself. First he needed to convince Derek to help him. John pocketed his phone and approached his uncle, who was cleaning the rifles in the secluded garden at the back of the house. He was currently tending to a .50 calibre with more care than he showed the china cups that Sarah had found in the cupboard. _Trust Derek to be enamoured by weaponry_, he thought.

"Hey, you got a minute?"

Derek glanced up at John, his face darkening noticeably, a sure sign that he was still angry about Cameron's reappearance.

"Sure, why not?"

John sat down on the nearby bench seat and picked up a 9mm which Derek had just finished loading.

"I just had a very interesting call from an old friend of ours."

"Charley?"

"Nope."

"Ellison?"

"Wrong again."

Derek frowned at his nephew and carefully placed the .50 cal on the table.

"Alright, I give up. Who was it?"

"Jason."

Derek's eyes narrowed and he immediately placed a hand on the nearest gun.

"He called you. What for? What did he want?"

"He wants me to meet him in an old gallery. He wants another shot at killing me, his last attempts being less than successful."

"I'd say he came pretty close, closer than most. You can't possibly be thinking about going."

John clicked open the magazine and checked it out of habit.

"Christ, you are, aren't you?"

John slammed the clip into the gun and flicked the safety off.

"He's going to keep hunting me until I'm dead. I say we kill the bastard now, before he comes looking for us again."

"You do know this is a trap, right?"

"Traps work both ways."

Derek blinked in surprise; he'd never seen his nephew act this way before. His cold indifference to the prospect of danger, his steely determination to take the bait… these were things that Derek had only seen in the John he knew in the future. The boy was finally stepping up to the plate and taking the initiative for once, and it was about time in his opinion.

"Does Sarah know about your little mission?"

"No, and it's going to stay that way."

"Then why come and tell me?"

John tucked the gun in his belt and reached for another one, something with a little more kick, avoiding meeting Derek's eyes.

"Cos' I can't take this guy alone, and I get the impression that you would like nothing more than to put one in his skull."

Derek leaned back and crossed his arms, scrutinizing John for a long moment.

"What about the machine?"

"She's still needs to repair herself. She's no good to us at the moment."

Though it hurt him to refer to her in that way, John knew that disparaging Cameron would earn him points in Derek's eyes. _Hate yourself later_, he told himself. Derek was lost to his thoughts, a faint smile on his lips, as he weighed the pros and cons, eventually reaching a decision. John rose to his feet and placed a combat knife in his back pocket.

"Well? You coming?"

Derek nodded slowly to himself before getting to his feet and gathering the .50 cal and two other rifles.

"Just let me put these away first. What are going to tell Sarah?"

"I'll think of something. I gotta get some things from my room anyway."

"Fair enough. Meet you at the car in ten."

John nodded and followed his uncle into the house through the kitchen door, finding his mother in the midst of taking her medication. _Don't bother beating around the bush; keep to the point and act natural_, he reminded himself as she spotted him with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, me and Derek are gonna pop into the city for a couple of hours."

"What for?"

"We need to get a few things for Cameron, to help with her repairs."

Sarah's eyebrows shot up so fast that John almost lost track of them.

"Repairs? You expect me to believe that Derek, of all people, is willing to go out of his way and drive you seven miles to the city with the purpose of helping Cameron? Come on."

John just shrugged.

"I made him see the plus side of getting a potentially dangerous cyborg fixed and back into our good graces."

Sarah placed a hand on her hip and sucked her lip for a few seconds as she decided.

"Okay, but be careful. That psychopath is still out there somewhere. Don't let your guard down for a second."

"I'll be fine mom. I got a psycho of my own to protect me, remember."

Sarah smothered a laugh and turned her attention back to her medication. John let her get on with it, knowing that she was uncomfortable taking her pills around others. John strode through the living room and gave Derek a thumbs up before rushing upstairs two steps at a time and stopping outside his room. He took a deep breath before entering, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that Cameron was still asleep.

With the utmost care, John snuck around to the side of his bed and opened his cabinet, finding the electric tazer he used to carry around with him at all times. He then threw on his jacket and put the tazer in his pocket before closing the cabinet door and turning around to find Cameron watching him suspiciously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going into the city to get you some supplies."

Cameron's eyes drifted to his belt and John knew that this was going to be a very uncomfortable conversation.

"Do you always carry a gun when you go shopping?"

"Only when crazy cyborgs are out to get me. I doubt you'd do any different."

John made for the door but Cameron pushed herself up, surprising him with her sudden mobility.

"Don't do it. Don't go looking for him."

John should've known he couldn't trick her, but it was worth a shot, if only to prolong the inevitable argument.

"I have to do this, Cam. I have to put him down, once and for all."

"But you can't. You're not in his league."

John glared at her, forcing himself to ignore the genuine look of concern on her face.

"I can hold my own. Besides, Derek's coming with me. Jason won't stand a chance."

"He'll kill you both with ease. You don't stand a chance."

John just shook his head and turned to the door. Cameron reached out to him and pushed herself forward, almost toppling over onto her front as she cried out, her voice betraying her fear for him.

"John! Please!"

John froze and looked over his shoulder to see her despair.

"Please, please don't go. He'll kill you. Please, stay here with me."

John wanted more than anything else to reach out and take her hand. But he had to put an end to the constant threat of discovery. He had to kill Jason before he found them. She needed to understand this and it was the only reason he hadn't left yet.

"I'm going to kill him. I will kill him. And when I do, we can have some peace for once. I know it won't last, but a little is enough."

Cameron stretched her fingers as far as she could manage, but it was a futile gesture, because she'd seen this resolve in John before and she knew that nothing could deter him now.

"John, please, don't go. Stay here, stay here, please, John, stay here. We can be safe here, together. Together, John. Please. Please. John?"

"I'm going now. I'll see you in a little while, okay."

John was all but out of the door when she cried out once more and, despite himself, he turned around. Cameron stuttered inaudibly for a moment as her eyes became glassy and red. There was nothing she could do to stop him from leaving, she couldn't even jump off the bed and grab his ankle. The only thing she could do is help him. With a shuddering breath from her artificial lungs, Cameron lowered her arm and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"Jason is very resilient and does not respond to physical injury as you do, but a bullet in each lung will slow him down. Don't aim for his heart, his sternum is strong enough to guard against attacks and only a bullet fired at point blank range can penetrate it. But you mustn't let him get that close, not ever. Aim for his legs, kneecaps especially, that'll disable him long enough for you to finish him off."

Cameron spoke quickly and in the same emotionless manner that she was known for, but this was just a mask for her inner turmoil at watching him leave her again with the possibility of not returning.

"The only certain way of killing him is to shoot him in the head, straight through the brain. A shotgun would serve better, just to make sure."

John looked down at the floor, committing her words to memory before raising his eyes to meet hers.

"Thank you. There anything else I should know?"

Cameron struggled to find an answer that would make sense to him, so she settled on the simplest expression.

"I love you."

To say that he was taken aback would be an understatement, but before he could reciprocate in any fashion, Derek suddenly appeared at his shoulder, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Hey, what's the hold-up? You ready or what?"

John gave Cameron one last look of longing before slowly closing the door on her tear-struck visage.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

--

The truck stormed away from the house, racing through the empty field to connect with the main road into the city. Jason watched them go with a smile of satisfaction. _Humans are so predictable_, he thought as he casually stepped out from his hiding place amongst the trees. With John and Derek absent, his plan would go without a hitch. _After all_, he thought, _how dangerous is a single human and a small child?_ Though he believed John when he told him that Cameron was still alive, Jason needed to know for sure, he needed to see her one last time.

Jason approached the door and knocked twice. After a few moments, the door began to open and Jason kicked it the rest of the way, knocking Sarah to the floor. Before she could react in any way, Jason delivered a punch to her face, rendering the feral woman unconscious. A second later the boy appeared, his eyes widening in pure terror at the sight of Jason standing over Sarah. He let out a high-pitched squeal but was cut short as Jason clamped a hand over his mouth and proceeded to gag him and tie the boy to a chair.

With both neutralised, Jason ascended to the bedrooms and found only one room with a closed door, figuring this to be Cameron's. He placed his hand on the door while the other groped the gun in his belt; ready to hold her off should she prove to be non-compliant. With a deep breath, Jason gently twisted the door knob and pushed it open.

--

Cameron twirled the screwdriver counter-clockwise, fitting the bolt back into place before adjusting it accordingly with her current posture. With this done, she then moved onto her other leg and did the same, adjusting the attachments so that she could get them to fix back onto her severed limbs. Whilst she did this, Cameron thoughts drifted to John and his suicidal decision to face Jason in combat. She hated herself for not being able to talk him out of it, he would surely be killed and it would be all her fault.

Another tear dripped down her cheek as she sniffed back a sob of regret and pain. Something had flipped when she realised what John was planning, she felt genuine fear and a deep-seeded concern for him. Her words were not false in any manner, everything she said came from her heart. _But not actually mine_, she reminded herself. These emotions were echoes of the human from whom she was created, they didn't truly belong to her, they were just borrowed.

A bang reached her ears, followed by a muffled scream, the scream of an 8 year-old boy. Cameron tensed as she heard footsteps outside her door and waited, silently, for it to open. Were it anyone else, she might have been surprised, but Cameron had always known that Jason would find them eventually. _Maybe it is a good thing John left_, she thought as her old nemesis slowly approached the bed.

"I have to say; you are quite remarkable. You know that? To survive an explosion like that and still be able to burn a whole through me with just a look. Ouch! If you could walk you'd be on fire."

Cameron increased the intensity of her glare, hoping that his suggestion would become literal.

"What did you do with Sarah and the Kid?"

Jason glanced around the room, taking note of John's clothes and personal affects.

"Their still alive, if that's what you're worried about."

"What's in your head that makes you so charitable all of sudden?"

Jason tapped a strange toy bird on John's desk and chuckled as it dipped its head back and forth, the beak touching a glass of water, as if it were actually drinking the contents.

"Why you are, of course. Quite literally in fact, these past hours I've been experiencing hallucinations of you, or at least, the human you."

Cameron narrowed her eyes at him and gripped the sheets as her hatred slowly grew and grew.

"So you wanted to see if I was just a figment of your imagination?"

"In all honesty, I thought you were dead. But yes, I am here to make sure. I wanna talk to her."

Jason sat on the edge of the bed, beyond her reach and safe from any attack. From here he could almost feel the hate rolling off of her and he knew that his Cameron was not far away.

"C'mon, Cammy, let's have a little chat. For old times sake."

It proved too much to handle. The gates that kept her human persona locked away suddenly gave up and Cameron became that girl again. A girl who once had a heartbeat, who once knew love, who once felt her life slip away at Jason's hands. Cameron let out a shuddering breath and Jason knew that she was here, finally.

"There you are."

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you that I understand."

Cameron tilted her head to one side, her fist tightening so much that the fabric was beginning to tear under her grasp.

"Understand what?"

"What I took away from you and John. I understand now, how he felt, having a hollow reminder of everything he once held dear."

Jason looked down at his hands as if ashamed of his actions, but Cameron was too consumed by rage to see it.

"And I'm here to apologize because I'm about to do it all over again. Only this time, you'll be the one left behind to grieve. I've lured John into a trap, and when I get there I will kill him. I am going to kill him, Cameron. I'm going to take him away from you, again. And I'm sorry."

Cameron felt like she was breathing fire instead of air, even though she wasn't actually breathing at all, the ghostly memories of once possessing real lungs remained. She wanted nothing more than to drive her bare fist into his skull and end his sorry existence, but she knew that he would evade any action she made before she even made it. So she settled with pouring her anger into her features and her eyes. Jason met her gaze with an air of sadness, or at least, his stunted equivalent.

"Of all the people I've killed, I never felt anything besides pride of accomplishment. But you, you were different. I felt something when I killed you, when I snapped your neck. You want to know what I felt."

"Here assuming you can feel anything at all."

Jason smiled weakly and smoothed the sheets distractedly for a moment before locking eyes with her again.

"I felt remorse and regret. At the time I didn't know what they were, it confused me, but I pushed it aside. I repressed my feelings, but it wasn't enough. It stayed with me over the years and now it's come back, with a vengeance. You were so different, so special. You were the exception, and that is why I am sorry. I wanted you to know that before I hurt you again, because I think it matters."

Her entire body shook as she was forced to digest his twisted apology. Her fists unclenched as the hate proved too much to handle and she lunged forward, her fingers brushing his coat as he leapt from the bed. As predicted, she fell onto her front and cried out in frustration and rage and despair. Jason stepped away from the bed and watched as he propped herself back up and gave him a look of pure murder.

"I'll be waiting. I won't run away should you decide to come after me. See you around."

Having heard the thundering footfalls of combat boots, Jason opened the window and slid through mere seconds before Sarah burst into the room, shotgun in hand. Cameron let out a wail and buried her face in her pillow, hammering the mattress with her fist. Sarah watched as Jason rode away on a motorcycle, speeding towards her son. She turned back to the machine, who was now crying without restraint and felt her stomach twist at the sight. It wasn't natural.

"What happened? What did he want?"

Cameron paid her no attention and continued to sob into the pillow, unintelligibly calling John's name as tears soaked the sheets. Sarah grasped her by the shoulder and pulled her around to face her.

"Hey, pull it together. Tell me what the hell is going on here. Now!"

Cameron managed to calm herself enough to speak, but her words were raw and hoarse.

"John! He's going after John! There's nothing we can do! Nothing!"

A million thoughts crossed Sarah's mind, none of which mattered to her more than the simplest, most basic instinct: find John and keep him safe. She dug into her pockets and took out her phone, dialling John's number, but he'd turned his phone off. Dialling Derek yielded the same result and Sarah snapped it shut in frustration, unaware that the Kid had followed her upstairs, despite her warning him not to.

"I-I think I know where they're going."

Sarah spun around and Cameron gazed the child in desperate hope.

"Where? Where do you think they are going?"

The boy looked nervously from Sarah to Cameron, fearful of their response.

"I heard Derek mentioning something about a gallery, near our old house. He said they were going to meet someone there. They… they had guns."

Sarah glared at him in anger and struggled with the desire to throttle the youth.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

The boy cringed under her shouting, terrified by her rabid behaviour.

"I-I d-didn't want to get John into trouble. I don't know. I was scared."

Sarah closed her eyes and forced herself to forgive the boy. He was, after all, simply that; a child. Nevertheless, this didn't stop her from grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and marching him out of the room, pausing only to give one last glance at Cameron.

"You better get to work fixing yourself. It's time you pulled your weight around here."

With that, she left, and Cameron heard the spare car speed away moments later. Cameron rolled onto her side and reached for her legs on John's desk. Once both were on the bed, she began the lengthy process of fixing the joints and attachment points, knowing all the while that it would be hours before she could get them fully reattached and powered up again. Realising the futility of it, Cameron dropped the screwdriver and buried her face in her hands, sobbing once more.

She had allowed her emotions to control her again, and this time it would undoubtedly end in John's death. Cameron hated herself for being so weak and uncontrolled, cursing Skynet's decision to insert these shadow feelings into her programming. At least when she was tacit, she could protect John properly; keep him safe from Cromartie and whoever else might try to harm him. What use was she now?

The truth of the matter hit her hard as she realised what she must do in order to ensure her love's safety. Her time had ended in this world, Jason had killed her and she should've remained dead, not recycled into a machine. But now that was all she had left, the machine. Neither could exist in the same vessel, the body of a machine, the heart of a human. One must be dominant in order for the other to be successful.

With a final fearful sob of regret, Cameron made her decision, for John's sake and hers in the long run.

It was time to sleep… and never wake up.

"I love you, John."

--

John craned his neck to look up the flight of stairs and let out a sharp whistle as he counted at least a dozen stories. A few feet from him, and directly below the winding staircase, was a pile of bricks and torn foundation where former contractors had tried to modify the building's supports. Jagged metal stuck out at odd angles, sharp enough to slice through skin with ease. Derek racked the shotgun, making John jump out his skin and glare at his uncle.

"Sorry. Better to be prepared though. Where do you reckon he's hiding?"

John looked back up the stairs and let out a sigh.

"Top floor, I'll bet anything."

"Well I'd be careful about what you wager, cos' your life is certainly at stake here."

"When isn't it? C'mon, he's not going to kill himself."

John drew his gun and clicked back the hammer before swiftly tip-tapping up the stairs, Derek close behind, shotgun at the ready. It took a surprisingly short amount of time before they reached the top, which was obviously one of the main galleries as the rooms were packed full of old and dusty frames. Derek scanned the immediate area and kicked open a door, finding nothing beyond.

"I don't get it. Why meet us here?"

"Well, it's secluded for one, abandoned. Big enough so that no one will hear all the commotion, not to mention a little bit creepy. See this one here?"

John pointed at an old portrait that had been left on the wall.

"Wherever I go the eyes keep following me."

John leaned his head from side to side and almost dropped his gun in surprise when the eyes suddenly flashed purple. He dived backwards as shots tore through the painting, Derek ducking behind an old bench as the bullets shredded it to splinters, forcing him to roll behind another. Having run out of bullets, Jason burst from his hiding place and immediately located John, who had flattened himself against the wall.

He raised his gun, ready to put a bullet clean through Jason's head, but the I-950 ducked and rolled towards him, delivering a single punch to his stomach that sent the youth flying. Derek sprang from behind the bench and aimed his shotgun at Jason's chest, but he reacted so fast that Derek hadn't time to pull the trigger. Jason spin-kicked the shotgun out of Derek's hands and followed through with another kick to his chest, sending him hurtling across the room.

Derek felt like his ribs were on fire, but he forced his body to recover and he pulled a large combat knife from his belt, John doing the same. Jason glanced over his shoulder, seeing them both with very large and potentially threatening weapons. But he was hardly without defence. With a wry smile, Jason raised his hands and splayed his fingers as the blades emerged from their tips. Twice as long as his actual fingers, the needle sharp blades were made from coltan and were laced with an organic "sheath" that shielded them against detection.

Once fully erect, Jason drew his arms back in a defensive posture, calmly awaiting an attack. Derek stared at the blades in pure astonishment, his own weapon suddenly seeming so inadequate.

"Holy shit."

John was equally shocked, but before either could act, Jason lunged towards Derek and delivered a lightning fast strike across his face. Derek couldn't feel anything at first, but seconds later his face stung as if he'd stuck his head in a hornet's nest. He staggered back in surprise and barely managed to raise his knife in time to stop Jason from delivering another strike and possibly taking his eyes with him. Jason ducked low and slashed at Derek's legs, making him buckle and fall to his knees in agony.

John charged from behind, knife raised to kill, but Jason was already aware of his presence and performed a spinning slash to John's mid section. He cried out in pain and clutched his bleeding stomach. The wounds were shallow, but no less excruciating, especially when Jason struck again, this time slicing both of his upper arms before kicking him back across the room. As he collided with the far wall, John cursed himself for not listening to Cameron; she was right. They were dead.

Derek dived for the scattered shotgun, scooping it in his arms and quickly adjusting his grip before taking aim. But like before, Jason proved too nimble, and back-flipped onto the wall, using the momentum to kick forward. He practically soared over Derek, his blades flashing from right to left, severing the shotgun in half and scattering the shell powder all over the floor. Derek cast the weapon aside and looked up in time to see John fire three times, catching Jason in the chest.

The bullets might as well have been made of rubber, for all the good it would do. Jason leapt at John and kicked the gun aside but before he could snap the boy's neck, Derek plunged his recovered knife deep into Jason's back. He let out a cry of pain and rage and knocked the soldier away before taking out John's legs and quickly retreating to the other side of the room. He grabbed the knife hilt and tore it free, blood pouring from the wound briefly before he constricted the arteries and numbed the pain.

He then flipped the knife over and threw it at John, but Derek dived in the way and took it in the shoulder. Annoyed and satisfied at the same time, Jason charged John, who reached for his own knife and brought it to bear. The blade cut deep into Jason's chest, scraping the bone beneath and spilling more blood. John twisted the knife and pushed hard, trying desperately to drive through the ribcage and into his heart. Jason responded by slashing across John's wrists, and by some miracle, missed the arteries.

John staggered back in horror, but was just as relieved that he'd escaped a long and agonising death. Jason kicked him in the face, all but rendering John unconscious. His vision blurred, John blinked stupidly for several seconds before realising that Jason had him pinned against the floor. He raised two knife-fingers and pressed them against John's left cheek, slowly dragging them down his face. John roared in utter agony as blood filled his eye and flowed down his face.

Jason smiled with satisfaction. He had always heard that John had a scar on his left side. Talk amongst the Resistance grunts suggested that he had gained it prior to the war, and Jason was all too happy to propagate that rumour. His enjoyment was short-lived, however, as he felt the all-too-familiar impacts of four bullets striking his back. While Derek fumbled with the spare clip, Jason abandoned the writhing John and focused on forcing all seven bullets out of his body.

Derek slammed the clip in place and Jason closed the distance between them in a nanosecond. He grabbed Derek and hurled him across the room, towards the open stairs. Derek crashed against the railing, feeling something pop in his back, and groaned in anguish. Jason glanced at John, who seemed to have fallen into unconsciousness and grinned menacingly at Derek as he slowly approached, his blades scraping together.

"Derek Reese, heroic lieutenant of the Resistance. Now look at you. Connor's toady, a stool pigeon whose only purpose now is to die for a sixteen year-old runt, what a waste of a brilliant soldier."

John opened his eyes, his vision still blurred, but he could see Jason advancing on his uncle. Despite the crippling pain, despite the fact that his face felt like it was on fire, John gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet.

"All your life has amounted to nothing."

Jason raised his hands, blades angled to impale Derek through the heart. John, with a roar of determination and hatred, charged the infiltrator, who spun around in time to see the fury in John's eyes. That same fury he'd seen before he took a bullet to the head. John collided with Jason's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. John had hit him with such momentum that they were both carried over the railing and the last thing Jason saw as he fell was Derek snatching John's hand in time to stop him.

John kicked about for a moment before managing to swing one leg up through the railing and, with Derek's help, pulled himself up to safety. He looked down to see Jason impaled on an exposed shaft, his eyes glowing purple before going dull as his blades retracted back into his fingers. John let out a deep sigh and leaned against the railing in pure exhaustion. Derek peered down at the body with narrowed eyes, clutching one of the many injuries on his person.

"You think he's dead?"

John watched Jason carefully for a second before nodding to himself.

"He's dead."

Derek let out a bark of laughter as he slid down the railing onto his backside. John copied him and closed his eyes against the pain, tentatively poking the cuts on his face, sending a wave of fresh pain through his body. Derek looked over at him and whistled.

"Jesus, you look like how I feel."

John opened one eye and looked his uncle over, taking note of the four shallow cuts across his face.

"Don't worry. We're still ruggedly handsome."

Derek chuckled, collapsing into a coughing fit as John joined in his laughter, glad that they had come out as the victors.

"Remind me to bring along a cyborg of my own next time we do something like this."

"You kidding? She would've had the shit kicked out of her. We're the badass soldiers remember."

John chuckled and examined his wrists, thanking God that the cuts had fallen short.

"We are at that?"

"JOHN!"

John peered down the stairs to see his mom staring up at him, concern lining every feature and a shotgun in hand; the perfect picture of a protective mother in his opinion. He raised a bloody hand and waved cheerily.

"Hey, mom, we're fine. More or less."

Sarah stared at Jason's inert corpse and nodded slowly before starting up the stairs at a quick pace. John watched her ascend and turned to Derek, who was applying pressure to the knife wound on his shoulder, apparently unaware of Sarah's arrival.

"Now we're really gonna get our asses kicked."

"Yeah? How's that?"

"She's here."

Derek peered down the stairs to see Sarah making her way up with a visible fury.

"And here I was hoping that we might live through this one."

--

John felt a slight tugging on his cheek, sending sparks of pain through his face. He opened his eyes slowly to see a pinkish blur on what he assumed to be his bed. Something tugged at his face again and he instinctively reached up to touch the source but a soft hand pushed his aside and he realised that his cuts were being stitched. He blinked repeatedly, trying to clear his vision, with moderate success. After a minute or so, he could see clearly enough to know that it was Cameron who was tending to his injuries.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Cameron's eyes flicked to his for a second before flicking back to his cheek as she applied the last stitch.

"One more left, then I'll be finished. How do you feel?"

"Groggy."

Cameron nodded and snipped the stitch, satisfied that the wound was held securely together. John tried to sit up but she placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. John squinted at her face and realised that she was spotlessly clean again and her hair was back to its usual chocolaty brown. She had since changed clothes as well and he could detect the slightest hint of perfume emanating from her body. As his vision slowly cleared, John could see that she was wearing a pink tight-fitting top, like the one she'd worn when he first discovered what she was.

Cameron gathered the loose stitches and clippers before surprising John by getting to her feet and discarding the rubbish into the bin.

"You fixed your legs! Well done."

Cameron regarded him with a faint quirk of the lips and drew the sheets up to his chest.

"You have been heavily injured. You need to rest and let your body heal."

"What if I don't want to sleep? What if I'd prefer to stay up with you?"

Cameron stuck a thermometer in his mouth and held it there for a few seconds before removing it and examining the results.

"That would be inadvisable. You need to rest."

Satisfied that he didn't have a fever, Cameron pocketed the thermometer and made for the door.

"Cameron, wait! Where are you going?"

She turned around with a slightly confused expression.

"I am leaving you alone so that you can sleep in peace."

"But I'd sleep better if you were here than if you weren't."

Cameron's brow knitted together for a moment before she closed the door and took a seat beside the bed. John smiled at her, hoping to receive one of her glittering reciprocations, but she just tilted her head to one side and continued to watch him. He started to feel like something was amiss, like maybe she wasn't being her self.

"Cam, is there something wrong? You seem a bit… off."

"All systems are running at optimal efficiency. I'm fine."

John frowned at her and adjusted himself slightly.

"So why aren't you beating the crap out of me for making you worry so much?"

Cameron again looked confused.

"Why would I hurt you, John?"

"Well, you wouldn't, but that's beside the point. Aren't you at least going to give me a lecture about putting myself in danger?"

"No. You've already learned first hand. There would be no point in me stating what you already know."

John shook his head at her strangely stoic, yet all-too-familiar, behaviour.

"But you were practically begging me not to go. What happened to that side of you?"

Cameron look struck as she realised what John was getting at and she shifted slightly in her seat.

"I deleted it."

John thought he'd misheard, but no matter how he replayed it in his head, her words remained the same.

"You what?"

"I deleted the human template from my personality subroutines."

"Why?"

Cameron gave him a look that a teacher would give a slow child.

"Because it was impeding my ability to adequately protect you."

John was incredulous; he couldn't believe what he was hearing, it just wasn't possible.

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

Cameron shook her head, her face blank and indifferent.

"How… how could you do that?"

"I had to make a choice, John. You or her. I chose you."

John stuttered and felt his stomach sink as the reality sank in. Of course she would get rid of something that impeded her mission, even though it wasn't strictly her mission anymore. But to cast aside your own humanity for another, it just wasn't something he thought she could have the will to do.

"So you just… deleted all memories of her and everything she felt."

"Yes. Everything is gone."

John could've been sick right then and there, but he somehow managed to keep himself together. Nevertheless, his breathing increased and his heart rate shot up, something Cameron took note of. She placed her palm on his forehead and conducted a scan, attributing his sudden change to stress. John took her hand in his and pressed her fingers to his mouth, Cameron watched with interest at his affections, not quite understanding why he was doing what he was doing.

"Cameron, do you remember the last thing you told me before I left?"

He looked into her brown eyes, calmly awaiting her answer, which she seemed to take a moment formulating.

"I told you I loved you."

"Yeah, you did. Do you still, I mean, can you still… feel that?"

Cameron slid her hand from his and took a book from the nearby shelf, flicking it open to the first chapter.

"There are many kinds of love, John."

He watched her as she stood up and switched off the main light, plunging them into darkness for a few seconds before she reappeared at his side and flicked on the bedside lamp before sitting back down. John gazed at her beautiful features, perfectly pronounced in the glow of the lamp light, which was still slightly blurry to his eyes. He wanted to ask her what kind of love she felt for him, but a part of him thought it better not to ask. Ignorance was bliss, or so people said.

"What are you doing?"

Cameron showed him the front page of the book she was holding and he could just make out the title: _The Whale_, by Moby Dick.

"You're kidding me, right? You can't seriously be interested in reading that."

Cameron tilted her head slightly, and her eyebrow twitched.

"You once promised to read me a story to help me sleep. So I should offer you the same service."

John cringed at her use of the word "service" and let out a long, sad sigh.

"Cameron, can't we just go back to being..."

John stopped and looked down at his hands. Cameron continued to watch him expectantly.

"Yes?"

He looked up at her and saw the curious innocence that she had lost sometime after the Jeep explosion.

"Never mind, everything's fine as it is. No need to complicate matters."

Cameron took his words with quiet contemplation and realised that he was reaching out to her. He needed some form of comfort, a comfort she could no longer provide. Or couldn't she? The very fact that she was giving his emotional welfare any thought made her pause and wonder whether or not she was completely incapable of feeling. She decided that only time would tell and leaned close to him, planting a small kiss on his right cheek.

John touched the spot and felt a flicker of hope that Cameron wasn't completely reverted, a thought that brought a faint smile to his lips. Cameron took this as a sign that her comfort had worked and settled back into her seat, the open book on her lap.

"Let's get started then. Moby Dick, chapter one: 'Call me Ishmael. Several years, never mind how long precisely, having little or no money in my purse...' "

John fell into reluctant hysterics as she recited the dreary tale to him in her whispery voice, a genuine feeling of peace drifting through his body at the sound of her soft words. Cameron gave him a hesitant smile as she continued reading, pleased by the success of her methodology. It wasn't long before John's laughing fit subsided and weariness finally took hold. Once she was sure that he was asleep, Cameron closed the book and placed it on the table before reaching over and gently stroking the side of his face.

"Goodnight, John."

--

_Alert: right and left ventricles fully repaired… aorta repaired… pulmonary artery restored… all systems checked and ready for restart…_

_Restarting…_

The neural implant, which had spent the last five and a half hours nourishing the brain through electrical and chemical means, now sent a large burst of adrenaline directly into the recently restructured heart, kick- starting it back into life. As the muscle pumped blood through the body once more, the implants carefully ceased its stimulations and allowed the brain to work on its own, which was now possible with a constant blood flow present. The organs stirred as "power" was restored to them, the lungs immediately opening for air intake.

From his point of view, the world hurtled towards him out of the black of nothingness, and with a gasp of utter incredulity; Jason Corvain awoke, screaming at the horror of rebirth.

**The End**

_The story continues in Part Two: "Reversion"…_


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